Forum to guide Berea building development

A NEW forum could give swindling developers a hard time if given the go-ahead by the municipality, however, according to Save Our Berea (SOB), residents shouldn’t expect anything soon as the structure is in its early stages.

According to Cheryl Johnson, chairperson of SOB, this new body was one of the demands by the civic organisation submitted to the city council in May. She said it was essential to have a structure in place which would provide yet another layer of checks and balances for new building designs.

KZN Institute of Architects (KZNIA) chairperson Kevin Bingham said the institute had been approached by the city and asked for advice and feedback.

He said it was still a long way in the making and the proposed body would not prescribe building rules or restrictions but ideally would give guidance and assist developers in constructing new developments that reflected the neighbourhood.

He said the body could see ward councillors and other professional bodies being present and able to give feedback on new designs.

Johnson said they “welcomed” the move.

“In May we requested the council formulate a building control board to monitor all new developments. In recent years there has been a spate of unsightly buildings erected that clearly do not fit in. Developers cannot simply buy land and use cheap materials and poor design to the detriment of everyone else,” she said.

She said SOB would push for the introduction of the Urban Improvement Zone in Berea which has enjoyed so much success in the CBD. Through the Expanded Public Works Programme, managed by the city, in the last month some of Berea’s streets have been cleaned and graffiti removed.

Jonathan Edkins, Deputy Head of Architecture, said they were in discussion to introduce a process for independent, informed and professional architectural review of proposed building developments submitted to the city for approval.