The Melrose Resident’s Association’s Precinct Plan meeting
MELROSE - The Melrose Resident's Association (MRA) will be holding a public meeting next month regarding their Precinct Plan.
The MRA is to present its proposed Precinct Plan for the phased growth and development of the suburbs of Melrose and Melrose Estate, at a public meeting that will be held at the Kingsmead College on 14 July at 6pm.
The Plan seeks to regulate the present commercial development in the area, and preserving the residential nature of Melrose and Melrose Estate – two of Johannesburg’s oldest suburbs.
The coming meeting is a follow-up on an earlier public gathering held in May, when proposals for the Precinct Plan were first discussed with residents. Community support will be sought for the Plan at this second meeting before its eventual presentation to the City Council.
Chairman of the MRA Lewis Neuburger said, “We appreciate that the City Council wishes to ‘densify’ the area in the immediate vicinity of the Gautrain station. However, the resident’s association has a duty to protect the individual rights of homeowners and the four schools in the area. Outright commercialisation, without safeguards for the community and property owners, simply cannot be allowed.”
Neuburger continued, “The MRA accepts that areas bordering on Oxford Road, North Street and Glenhove Road are already earmarked for multi-storey buildings. It is essential that such a commercial development should take place in a regulated and co-ordinated manner, which takes into account the extra burden placed on electrical and water services, our tree canopy and wetlands, as well as traffic flows in Melrose, Melrose Estate and the adjacent suburbs.”
He elaborated that rather than find themselves in constant conflict with commercial developers and private homeowners who wish to subdivide unrealistically, and with a view to guiding and structuring future development, the MRA has commissioned a Precinct Plan, which covers the portion of Management District 4 and Area 2D under the Rosebank Urban Development Framework (RUDF).
“Once approved by residents, the Plan will be presented to the City Council,” Neuburger concluded.
