A HOUSE in Somerset Avenue, Glenwood, has been an eyesore for the past 10 years.
According to resident Sakkie Hattingh, who runs a guest house in the road, the house burnt down in 2004 and nothing has been done with it since.
Residents wrote a petition to the then councillor, Sue Burrows, about the house as rats were living on the property, and coming onto his property, drugs are left in this house for pick-up, vagrants sleep there and were stealing metal from the property, and nearby residents could see them coming and going, and a huge rubber tree on the property was a concern.
According to Sakkie, Sue Burrows wrote to numerous heads of departments in the municipality in 2009, but nothing was done.
“The corporation cuts the branches which hit the power lines, but it is getting so big that small trees are growing in a property over the road. The root system is massive and it is a problem. The property also lowers the property values of houses in the road. As we run a guest house, this property so close to us is unsightly. We thought the owner would've sold the property to cover the costs years ago,” said Sakkie.
The property is owned by a former city councillor, and according to Sakkie, he has no money to fix up the house.
“This is no excuse, as the bylaws should have been enforced. We have known five people over the years who have wanted to buy the property, but the owner will not sell,” he said.
Cheryl Johnson from Save Our Berea, said: “This is what we call a ‘Trojan Horse’. Save Our Berea’s position is clear, abandoned and derelict houses are a no-no. Owners should be prosecuted. They pose a health hazard, they devalue the neighbouring properties and they undermine security. Why hasn’t enforcement charged the owners?”
Thabo Mofokeng from eThekwini Municipality, said the building inspectorate would investigate the matter.
“Unfortunately the municipality does not have a relief programme for assistance in these instances, as this is private property. If the building poses a threat to the public and is declared dangerous in terms of its structural integrity, the municipality will issue the owner with a notice to remove the danger, failing which the municipality will carry out remedial work and bill the owner on his consolidated billing account,” he said.
The owner, Athol Bowles, said he had been going to the property every second day recently to work on fixing it up.
“I have been short of money and had been retrenched three times since the house burnt down and wasn't receiving a pension in that time, otherwise I would never had let it deteriorate so much. I own the property in conjunction with my family members, and I will go check for vagrants and chase them away regularly. They do not stay there. I plan on going back to the house in time,” he said.
