Resident not happy with goings on at farm

TRICHARDT – A local resident is not happy with what is taking place at a local farm known as Trichardtsfontein Farm.

The resident approached the Ridge Times with concerns of illegal trading, prostitution, alcohol as well as industrial sights on this land while not zoned as an industrial zoning as well as the many shacks that occupy this land.

According to the resident, there is also no proper sewerage or water facilities.

The resident who wishes to remain anonymous, says this is an illegal industrial area and that the premises belongs to a local church.

“These construction people get visitors and those visitors get visitors and at the end of the day there are so many people and there are no proper toilet facilities.

“One of the businesses just digs a hole in the ground and all the sewerage goes in there, once it is full they dig another hole and move the pipe and so it has been going on for years.”

The resident said that heavy duty vehicles use residential roads to gain access to a tyre company that is located on this farm and this is the cause of bad road conditions.

According to the resident, there are other access to these businesses and heavy duty vehicles should be using those entrances.

The resident said that the power supply to the property is for a farm house but that power is leading from one shack to another.

The Ridge Time contacted the committee who spoken on behalf of the church and their congregation.

In 1900 Trichardtsfontein Farm was donated to the church by a local farmer who died and had no other family.

At that time the church was given 560 hectares, today the church has 68 hectares.

Throughout the years parts of the land were either brought or taken back by government for a railway line as well as the development of the Trichardsfontein dam.

In 1974 the Trichardt Municipality at that time, came to the church and said they needed land for Flour and Bester Brother as well as other construction companies to help build Sasol at that stage.

“That is how the use for the industrial area started.

The church gets about R20 000 from the industrial companies who occupy space.

“The financial gain is not that big and the reasons for the continuation of renting is so that the land does not become a white elephant.

“The church was approached in the late 1990s early 2000 and was told that the correct zoning was not in place for industrial use.

The church board at that stage decided to sell a horse camp and started with the process of rezoning and this rezoning of land expanded to a total new town application.

“For the past few years we have been haltered by factors out of our control, such as environmental and underground mining rights on the land.

“This is a major financial expense for the church as we rely on donation from church members and the community.

“At this stage we are pushing everybody who is involved, from town planners to environmental.

“All the funds and documentation are in place and we are just waiting for factors that are beyond the church’s control to be sorted,” the committee said.

According to the committee, the original agreement with the renters was that a portion of the land is being used for construction, storage and industrial purposes and any electrical, or municipal services is their own responsibility.

The shacks that are currently on the land, belong to employees of the industrial companies that are currently renting.

According to the committee, they have been made aware of rumours of a shabeen and prostitution taking place on the farm and said they do not condone nor approve of such illegal activities and have alerted the police and sector policing who will be doing regular checkups.

As for the heavy duty vehicles using these residential roads, the committee said that all the roads in town are in a bad condition and not just this area.

Committee members said that businesses on their land have been told to use other routes and that a gate has been padlocked to stop deliveries at this specific entrance.

According to the committee, there are also signs which prohibit delivery and heavy duty vehicles using this entrance.