Ward 74 councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, deputy chairperson of the Corlett Drive Improvement Precinct, and general manager of Melrose Arch, Wayne Preston, and the precinct’s community liaison Mabona Selebogo took to the streets on May 15 with shovels and brooms to launch the Corlett Drive clean-up.

The team worked alongside Rapid Area Intervention Deployment, a professional cleaning and maintenance crew now contracted to service the stretch of Corlett Drive, from Rudd Road to the M1 Highway, on a daily basis.

Read more: Community spirit shines at Parkhurst clean-up initiative

The Corlett Drive Improvement Precinct is a registered non-profit company run entirely by community volunteers, including local business owners, property managers, and residents who share a belief that Corlett Drive can be better.

“This street is one of the busiest in our area and it connects thousands of people every day,” said Preston. “It deserves to be clean, safe, and something the neighbourhood is proud of. That’s why we started this.”

The precinct’s scope runs from Oxford Road in the west to the M1 Highway in the east, covering the full commercial and mixed-use stretch of Corlett Drive and its immediate surrounds.

This first phase of operations focuses on the visible basics, because visible change builds community confidence.

Also read: Norwood residents unite to support growing clean-up movement

This includes daily sweeping and litter removal along both sides of the pavement and pressure washing of footpaths and paved surfaces

The precinct is in active discussions with businesses and property owners along Corlett Drive to build a formal membership and funding base that will support the contracted security and CCTV camera deployment, as well as the pavement and infrastructure repairs in partnership with Johannesburg Roads Agency.

“We are building something that lasts. The goal is a precinct that funds itself, holds its service providers to account, and keeps improving year on year, ” noted Mark Pencharz, chairperson of the Corlett Drive Improvement Precinct.

Businesses, property owners, and residents along Corlett Drive and its surrounds are invited to join the precinct as members. Contributions fund the daily operations that are already making a difference.

For more information, interested locals can contact:

Pencharz via email: mark@pencharc.co.za, Preston via email: waynep@melrosearch.co.za, or Selebogo via email: mmselebogo@gmail.com.

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