Huff over Teal Close security hut [POLL]
"There was no safety mechanism in place and residents needed to take action."
A SECURITY hut placed in Teal Close in Woodlands is the subject of contention following road closures in that road.
Metro Police have ordered the removal of the security hut because there was no permit attained to have the security hut on the verge at Teal Close.
Residents of Teal Close put in application to Metro Police to have the hut in Teal Close on Wednesday, 29 October.
Bylaws state the road may not be closed as it’s a public road. It was brought to the attention of Yellowwood Park Ratepayers Association chairman Gavin Hegter by members of the community that Teal Close had been closed off with cones. “The cones were removed and then two days later, they were back again. I’m in favour of initiatives for crime-fighting as long as it’s done in line with the law. We cannot allow blatant disregard for the law,” said Hegter.
“When the hut was first put in place there was also a boom and cones but bylaws state that Teal Close is a public road and cannot be closed. The community has applied for a permit,” said Prinsloo. When the Southlands Sun inspected Teal Close on Thursday, 30 October the boom and cones had been removed.
The hut is a community initiative and is not funded by council. “Because of the level of crime increasing the safety minister has said communities need to assist law enforcement. The same type of security huts have been erected in Kloof to help curb crime. I am all for the hut,” said Prinsloo.
A resident of Teal Close, Peter Naicker said the hut is serving its purpose. “Ever since the hut was erected, it has deterred crime by 99.9%,” said Naicker. He said one house in the area had previously been vandalised three times while the owners were home. “There was no safety mechanism in place and residents needed to take action,” said Naicker. On the issue of preventing people from entering Teal Close, he said: “We never prevented access. It’s just for monitoring and nobody was turned away. The hut is there to protect the security guard. If the hut wasn’t serving its purpose residents wouldn’t invest money in this initiative. We are attending to the application to have the hut stationed at Teal Close,” said Naicker.
