LIZAHN WENTZEL
Bellville ward councillor Brendan van der Merwe has asked City law enforcement to act against a housing complex accused of turning a public roadway near a school and a football club into an illegal dump site.
Heaps of branches and black bags clutter the dead-end road off Bloemhof Road, where Bassett Alarms has its office.
The security firm says the pile of refuse next to Holy Cross Sisters Primary School and the Bellville City Football Club is growing at a disturbing rate.
The branches come from the Serengeti Complex on Bill Bezuidenhout Drive. The complex, which backs onto the dead-end, says a contractor it hired to cut down trees dumped them there.
Hennie Groenewald, Bassett Alarms’ police and neighbourhood watch liaison officer, says the branches have been there for more than a month and their presence has emboldened others to dump there illegally.
“We found that other residents were also dumping their waste and that vagrants were frequenting the area. This raises further concern, as it poses a fire hazard.”
He added: “If it was two or three branches, it would not have been such a big issue, we could have made a plan to remove it, even if it is not in our mandate. There are, however, far too many for us to remove. It is just going to get worse if a plan is not made.”
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.Northern News visited the area on Thursday May 5. It was clear the branches had piled up over time, as some were dried out and some were freshly cut.
André van der Walt from the Serengeti Complex’s body corporate said a contractor had cut down all the trees around the complex as they posed a danger to the building.
“The contractors are supposed to remove the trees trunks and branches away as they cut. When I drove past the complex this week, I noticed the branches.”
He could not provide us with a name or contact number for the contractor. He told Northern News on Thursday May 5 that he would get the contractors to remove the branches as soon as possible.
Mr Van der Merwe said a caretaker at the complex had committed to having the refuse removed by Friday May 6.
However by Monday May 9, the pile of branches was still there.
“The City’s law enforcement will now take further action against the estate,” said Mr Van der Merwe.
Upper Oakdale Neighbourhood Watch operations manager Rudi Nagel said they were concerned about the waste being dumped in the dead end.
“We have noticed an increase in the number of squatters sleeping in the area. There are usually one or two but this past weekend there were four. This also poses a huge fire risk, as the branches are dried out already,” he said.