The City of Johannesburg’s laws on property and development have come under fire and are being questioned as to whether they’re stringent enough.

This follows after the oldest house on Nellie Road (no 2) in Norwood was recently illegally demolished for the purposes of a nine-dwelling unit building.

Johannesburg Heritage Foundation’s honorary life president, Flo Bird, who sounded the alarm about the illegal demolition on March 20, reiterated the historic significance of the house.

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Bird noted that the house was built for TR Jones, who was recorded as living at 114 Ivy Road at the time (off Grant Avenue).

“The location of the stand was attractive, it was less than 1km away from Grant Avenue, which contained a mixture of business and residential premises and through which the horse-drawn tram ran, 1.5km away from the farthest extent of the electric tram, which stopped beyond the Orange Grove Hotel on Pretoria Road, now Louis Botha Avenue.”

Stand Erf 163 or Lot 163, as it was recorded in 1911, extended between Nellie Road and Algernon Road, almost as far as Jessie Avenue.

Other notable features that contributed to the house standing out included:

• Wooden, louvred gable vents are found on the two gables.
• The stone foundation allows for building on a single level despite the slope to the east, and prevents rising damp spoiling wooden floors.
• Four handsome chimney pots indicate four fireplaces.
• Six Ionic columns (classical Greek architecture) support the roof of the verandah

To probe the matter further, a journalist met with Ward 73’s councillor, Eleanor Huggett, on March 23 on the pavement of the demolished house, where a few builders were present in the empty yard.

Huggett highlighted the importance of her visit. “We came out to the site because we have grave concerns about the legitimacy of this [building] process. The heritage house has been under investigation before, and many objections were submitted to protect it.”

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The publication has seen the objections submitted by the Norwood Residence Association (Nora) in 2021, and stated that the owner of 2 Nellie Road (Rem Erf 163, Norwood), has submitted an application to rezone the property from Residential 1 to Residential 3, at a density of 70 du/hectare, for the purposes of building nine dwelling units on the site.

Nora objected to the proposed rezoning due to factors which included:

• The proposal is not consistent with the Grant Avenue Precinct Plan.
• The proposal would require the demolition of the oldest house in Norwood, itself a fine example of Edwardian residential architecture in Johannesburg.
• Jason Grove, the Nora chairperson, on April 13, explained that the association did not support this house being demolished, and suggestions were even proposed as a good alternative to develop the property while keeping the house.

“We have no idea if the PHRAG [Provincial Heritage Resources Authority Gauteng] or the City of Joburg approved the demolition, and both refuse to give us feedback on all the other demolitions and developments in our neighbourhood.

Residents deserve to know that the law is being applied fairly and equally to everyone, and that all developments are approved through a fair and transparent process.”

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The publication reached out to the developer via email on March 26, requesting proof of demolition, which has still not been received.

The publication was also not successful in tracing the homeowner; instead, a stand number associated with the owner came up.

The PHRAG committee said it was aware of the demolition and had issued an order to stop work on-site.

The committee added that the decision for consequences lay with the Built Environment and Plans Committee upon review and analysis of the heritage impact of the structure. If any transgression is determined, the sanctions available to the Built Environment committee include:

• Stop order
• Compulsory repair order
•  Fine
•  Order of no development
• Criminal charges.

The committee concluded that PHRAG has regulations in place for property developers to observe as part of the application and approval process.

“In addition, we work with municipalities to implement continuous public awareness drives targeting property owners, emphasising their responsibility to respect and uphold heritage laws.”

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