Plans for new homes brings joy to Wentworth community

More than 100 families in the area will benefit from the new flats.

August 17, 2023

Nadia Khan 2 minutes read

Members of the Austerville Project Steering Committee, Roselyn King, Paul Mkhize, Celeste King (secretary), and Andre de Bruin (chairperson), stand outside one of the dilapidated block of flats which will be demolished.

AFTER spending decades sharing a single room with up to 20 family members, there is now hope for the residents of Woodstock in Wentworth, as new housing units are expected to be built soon.

Celeste King, a resident and secretary of the Austerville Project Steering Committee, said after years of fighting for new homes, the city’s department of human settlements have heard their cries.

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She said about 160 families living in one room flats in the Woodstock area, which consist Wolraad, Woodville and Tuin roads and Austerville Drive, will be moved to decanting housing units while new three-storey blocks of flats are being built.

She said she was glad that the current flats were going to be demolished and new flats built.

Celeste King stands in the one room flat, which has to be used as a lounge and bedroom, for between 10 to 20 people.

“We are overjoyed by the progress that has been made. We started this fight for new homes in 2021, and never gave up,” she said.

King said there were currently anywhere between 10 to 20 people living in the one room flats which were built in the 1980s.

The flats currently have a room, kitchen and toilet with a shower in the same cubicle.

Celeste King, shows the bathroom which the residents have to use. There is a toilet and shower in the same cubicle.

“We are living with our grandparents, parents and now our children. We are overcrowded and sleep like sardines on the floor. The worst days are when it rains and the water comes inside as there is no proper drainage, so we will all try to sleep on one bed or take turns to sleep. Our flats are falling apart.

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“It is also difficult for our school-going children as they don’t have a room where they can study without any disturbance. Some nights they don’t sleep properly and are tired when they go to school, making it hard to learn. We are just glad that we will soon have more space,” she said.

King said according to the plans, the new flats will comprise two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen, bathroom and a toilet.

“I have this feeling of joy, which is unexplainable. The thought of having a bigger space for my family, and my children being able to sleep in their own beds, in their own room is amazing. We will be able to have a proper shower, and not have someone banging on the door as they need to use the toilet. We will even have a lounge to watch TV together as a family,” she said.

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