Eskom has left a big mess after they started digging up a piece of wetland in George Lea Park in Parkmore, allegedly without permission or a wayleave.
The piece of land was adopted by the Sandton Sports Club to maintain and take care of. This according to Gia Sinclair, vice-chair for the club. “We are horrified at the extent of damage caused by this digging, we have tried various channels to trace who has given the go-ahead for these works, given that the environmental impact assessment is still in the public review stage.”
Sinclair said the beautiful wetland is an interesting challenge for the club. “We have adoption rights over this land and have great plans to rejuvenate it.”
Kate Wardle, chairperson of the Parkmore Community Association said, “Having personally worked so hard on the clean-up of George Lea, I was devastated to see huge piles of sand and digging going on. When the PCA and the Sandton Sports Club intervened and emailed City Parks, it transpired that they were not aware of the project by Eskom and no wayleave had been issued.”
Wardle said it is heartbreaking that the community was not allowed to build a small footbridge over the river so they could start a community run, but Eskom can dig up a riverbed with no regulation.
“It is shocking and disgusting that they can behave with so little respect for the environmental impact, and the consultants in charge of this project should be ashamed.
“There is an Eskom servitude on that land. It is where the pylons are. It is not along the riverbed.”
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this story tomorrow morning, 18 March. You can talk to us by emailing our editor, Ashtyn Mackenzie, at ashtynm@caxton.co.za or the journalist, Pieter Dempsey, at pieterd@caxton.co.za
