Crime infested property a major concern for Welties
WELTEVREDEN PARK – Property company plans to maintain its crime-infested property to reduce crime in the area.
A disgruntled family is appealing to a property development company to maintain the piece of land adjacent to their property which has become a hub of criminal activities.
Grant Murray from Windsurf Road in Weltevreden Park accused Renico Construction of turning a blind eye in maintaining their vacant piece of land which has developed very tall and thick reeds over the years.
“Renico does not want to take responsibility. All we are asking from them is to maintain their piece of land because it has become a crime infested area,” said Murray.
He added that the reeds are almost five meters tall, and are a huge risk to their property.
“The reeds are four to five meters high. When these reeds catch fire, our properties will be at risk, and I’m sure Renico won’t pay for the damages,” Murray explained.
He also revealed that police recently conducted a raid on the property and found a lot of stolen items that were hidden in the thick reeds.
“The perpetrators use the land to store their stolen goods. They steal from our properties and hide everything on this piece of land, and fetch it later. Cops recently raided the property, looking for perpetrators and stolen goods.”
Murray also warned residents to refrain from walking their dogs on that piece of land because dogs get lost, and on top of that displaced people use it as a toilet.
The family told Roodepoort Northsider that Ward 89 councillor Amelia Bester was notified about the problem. In response, Bester said she forwarded the complaint to the Region C Environmental Health department and is awaiting a response.
Renico Construction marketing manager Marilize van de Merwe said they were aware of issues, and are waiting for certain approvals to clear the portion which they own.
“Renico only owns a small portion of the land. We are aware of the issues regarding trespassers on this land and eviction orders have been executed a few times in the past,” she said.
When asked about the maintenance issue, Van der Merwe added,
“We have township approval, but are not allowed to clear the site before all our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approvals are in place. We are thus stuck between desperately wanting to clear the site, but not allowed to under environmental legislation.”
The company revealed that the property is designated for a residential township development, and are hoping sometime this month to have a machine on site to attend to the matter.
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