Concerns raised over missing fences
Residents have said that since 2020, fencing materials have been stolen at an alarming rate.
Bedfordview and Dawnview residents are concerned over the rapid theft of fencing along AG De Witt Drive.
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Residents have said that since 2020, fencing materials have been stolen at an alarming rate.
The fences, which surround the Bill Stewart Nature Reserve, were erected in 2013 after a five-year campaign by then ward councillor Michelle Clarke.
Dawnview residents Debbie Dodd and Megan Mac Vay met with the NEWS to discuss their concerns.
Mac Vay moved into her house on Signal Road in June 2019.
Merely three weeks after the family moved in, they were held up in an armed robbery and assaulted.
At the time, Mac Vay was pregnant with her daughter.
“The man that was in my house told me that he’d been watching my house for weeks since we moved in. We had no idea,” she said.
As the only entrance to the reserve for those commuting from Germiston to Bedfordview on foot, the area at the top of AG de Witt Drive is a high foot traffic one.
“We decided to reinforce our security and put in an additional fence at the bottom of our property,” Mac Vay said.
She added that the area bordered directly onto the reserve.
Despite this, she said attempts had been made to get access to the property by digging under the fencing.
To counteract this, the Mac Vay family installed spotlights, which shine into the reserve and onto AG de Witt Drive.
Dodd said the only light on the road at night is that which comes from the Mac Vay residence.
“Nearly three quarters of the fence has already been stolen. It feels as though there is a new panel missing every single day,” Dodd told the NEWS.
The two said that residents who live bordering the reserve fear for their own safety.
“After the fence was installed, the gate at the top of AG de Witt and the gate on Kloof Road would be closed every night.
“Now, anyone can access the reserve at any time. We even have people staying in the reserve. It’s become a free for all,” Dodd said.
Mac Vay said that residents have caught people staring into their bedrooms at night from the reserve.
Dodd also recalled the vast wildlife in the reserve before 2020.
“There were bucks, meerkats, bunnies and guinea fowls. Now, you hardly see any wildlife.”
Ward 20 councillor, Jill Humphreys said that the fencing was stolen day and night.
She said that last year, patrolling security caught several people stealing the fencing but they managed to recover several panels.
Spokesperson for the Bedfordview SAPS Capt Andre de Jager encouraged motorists to report suspicious behaviour when they see it.
“Contact the SAPS on 10111 or your security provider,” he said.
The NEWS sent an enquiry to the City of Ekurhuleni’s media department on December 10.
Comment was requested by December 15.
At the time of going to print this week, no comment was received.
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