SAVE our Berea is pleased by a decision made by Amafa not to allow a two-storey hostel-like building to be built on the site at 80 to 84 Clark Road.
Ward councillor, Nicole Graham, brought the plans to the attention of the community last November when she encouraged residents to lodge objections regarding the establishment of a student hostel on the premises.
A meeting was called in December where Save Our Berea questioned the design of what the civic organisation's Cheryl Johnson called 'the multiple cell-like rooms' proposed for the development.
According to Ros Devereux, Head of the Built Environment Section of Amafa, the proposal was referred for additional information and public participation in the earlier stages of processing the application, but the demolition permit was issued in December 2014.
“The buildings concerned had very little heritage or architectural value and the surrounding buildings did not lead the Built Environment Committee to arrive at any other conclusion. Amafa has, however, not approved the replacement buildings. Elevations control is handled by the municipality and approval of the proposed replacement buildings may be refused through that process because the buildings would have no architectural value, and would not make a contribution to the built environment of lower Glenwood,” she said.
Cheryl Johnson said: “Save Our Berea believes Amafa’s decision was the right one to make. Although we were not opposed to demolition, because the houses in question are not listed and were not worthy of saving in our view, we were opposed to the developer’s plans to build two hostel-like buildings of no architectural merit whatsoever.”
She said the organisation urged residents to be alert to this kind of development, especially in the lower Glenwood area.
“Look out for special consent or rezoning notices once a property is sold in your street. Make sure that any new developments in your area are suitable and legal in terms of town planning; moreover that the new building will enhance your quality of life and not destroy it. Too often residents are slow to act and then object when it is too late to do anything about it. In this case, residents were on the ball and must be commended for their vigilance,” she said.
