Bromhof residents see red over bright Kiewiet Street LED billboard
Neighbours describe sleepless nights, security fears and falling property values after a commercial structure went up, allegedly without consultation.
Bromhof residents are frustrated by a brightly lit LED billboard erected in residential Kiewiet Street, with no meaningful change following their complaints.
They describe disrupted sleep and health concerns, and warn that the structure will reduce property values.
Resident Jonathan Swart said neighbours noticed the foundation being laid in May and June, but did not know what was being constructed. Residents saw a billboard being built in early July and realised, towards the end of that month, that it was an LED structure, adding that they were never consulted prior to its erection.
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Swart said he received a letter only in late July, after construction was completed, informing him of the property’s rezoning for business use, with no mention of an LED billboard. “I am annoyed,” he said. “Allowing something like this to be erected in the neighbourhood without consultation from all the people affected is unacceptable. We also still have no paperwork proving this was done legally and with an environmental impact study at all.”
Swart said the billboard’s erection has disrupted his household. “The biggest problem is that the billboard is quite bright at night. My daughter’s curtains now have to be replaced by blackout curtains. With the blackout curtains we don’t notice light, but it still sometimes makes slight movements at the edges, so we never know if it’s someone in our yard with a torch or the billboard reflecting in my garden, which heightens our stress levels and will affect our health. I also need to make sure none of my daughter’s friends are epileptic when they visit,” Swart said.
Following repeated complaints with no meaningful resolution, a resident contacted Rise Mzansi Ward 101 councillor candidate Olwethu Mahanga for help on October 5. Mahanga said he spoke to the property owner, conveyed the residents’ grievances, referred the matter to the City of Johannesburg, and reached an agreement with the property owner for the billboard to be turned off at 17:00. “I have established a channel of communication with a senior official in the city’s development planning department who has indicated that the matter will be followed up and the affected residents will be kept informed. In the meantime, the immediate priority is to obtain clarity from the city on the relevant approvals, the applicable rules and steps it considers appropriate,” Mahanga said.
Mahanga also expressed concern that residents must resort to publicity before receiving municipal help, encouraging neighbours to stay engaged and keep lines of communication open even during disagreements. He said he has engaged both parties in good faith, hoping the matter will be resolved with residents’ well-being prioritised and municipal by-laws enforced.
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While concerns over the billboard’s brightness have reduced with the billboard being turned off at 17:00, residents still demand answers on the structure’s legality and the lack of consultation and involvement prior to its erection. The property owner was approached for comment, but requested that their remarks not be published.
Randburg Sun approached the City of Johannesburg for comment on the legality of the billboard and whether construction protocols were followed, but received no response by the time of going to print.
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