Sandown says ‘no’ to proposed 12-storey student accommodation

Residents and property owners in Sandown have launched a petition to oppose a proposed rezoning of Erf 124 Sandown Extension 10, the property on the corner of Webber Road and Grayston Drive.

According to a resident, Jill Hagley, the objection relates to an application to amend the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme in terms of Section 21(1) of the City of Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016, read together with the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (SPLUMA) and the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018, in respect of Erf 124 Sandown Extension 10.

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The proposed amendment seeks to permit the development of student accommodation on the subject property through a rezoning application.

Hagley said the current single residential area home could be replaced with a 12-storey student accommodation building with a space for about 1 100 bedrooms, and only 20 parking lots.

She added that the scale of the development makes no sense for the area. “It is madness to introduce a 12-storey building into a small residential road and Grayston Drive, which already has huge traffic issues.

“On the proposal sent to the city, developers are making assumptions that these students or residents who will not be staying in these apartment blocks will not have cars. And I think that is naive and extreme. We are already dealing with unbearable traffic, and the road network in Sandown was never designed to carry the traffic it currently manages.”

Visiting the site with the publication on February 24, Hagley explained that the current building is a single home, while the surrounding area consists mainly of single-family houses and townhouse complexes, with buildings rising no higher than four storeys”
“How does a 12-storey building add to the aesthetics of the neighbourhood and uplift the neighbourhood? It doesn’t.

All these infrastructure pressures that will come with this proposed 12-storey building will add to devaluing the properties of the residential space in Sandown and Strathavon. As residents, we bear the brunt of proposed structures that actually add no benefit to the suburb at all.”

Hagley added that the development application indicates that no infrastructure upgrades will be required, including traffic upgrades to increase the size of the roads, water infrastructure and maintenance.

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“Although none of these has been approved as not required by the city, as residents, we argue against this proposal. The Illovo reservoir and tower feeding the area were built in 1950. The pump and machinery in the reservoir were last upgraded in 1995; capacity has not been increased, as Sandton’s rapid growth into Johannesburg’s financial hub.”

Grounds of objection

• Incompatibility with the existing residential character of the area.
•  Increased noise pollution and late-night disturbances.
• Increased traffic, parking congestion and road safety concerns.
•  Overburdening of municipal infrastructure and services, which is already failing.
• Loss of residential amenity, privacy and quality of life.
• Negative impact on surrounding property values.
• Undesirable precedent and proliferation of student accommodation.

Hagley said the objections will be submitted to the City of Johannesburg on March 4. She calls on the wider Sandown and Strathavon community to sign the petition and formally object before the deadline.

To sign the petition, click on the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LMe-LV4uCqWwJKqrKs3aJj6vEKySwEdejwfJk5wQcG0/viewform?edit_requested=true.

The publication has reached out to the City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane for a comment. Updates will be provided once they become available.

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