Umbilo Sports Club earmarked for housing development

A PROPOSAL to build 652 residential units on the site of the Umbilo Congella Sports Club has been submitted to eThekwini Municipality.

According to ward councillor, Nicole Graham, the proposal was put forward at a meeting of the Economic Development and Planning Committee last week.

Graham said: “This may very well be the best plan for the site, but I don't believe that is for officials or even councillors to decide in isolation. This number of residential units on this site will significantly affect this community, and they should be allowed to have input on how this occurs.”

She said what concerned her was not the content of the proposal, but the way it had been carried out.

“I have been trying to get answers and progress on this site, which is a huge community concern in its current state, for almost a year. I was told it was being rehabilitated and money was set aside in the current budget for this. I was told I would be made aware of the various proposals for the site, and the community would be allowed to have input as to what they would like to see happen there. From my interactions with people, many wanted this to be a community sports and recreation space, as there are so many blocks of flats in this area already,” said Graham.

She said recent attempts to get information from Deputy Head of Parks, Christo Swart, had not been answered, and the first time she had sight of the proposed framework was when it appeared on the committee agenda.

“As the DA, we support the Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network and improved public transport. We also support the development of housing, but we cannot support processes that don't allow communities to have a voice. The response from officials was that this participation will be done at a later stage, but I don't believe we can even approve a framework where ward councillors and communities have not been consulted or even informed of the plans,” she said.