Municipality aims to address student accommodation woes

Residents are urged to attend a community meeting at St Cyprian’s Church tonight where they can find out more about the proposed student precinct and voice any concerns.

Councillor Mmabatho Tembe outside Camden Residence, a student building in a residential area which has caused endless issues.

THE aim behind the proposed student accommodation precinct in the Glenwood, Manor Gardens and Glenmore areas is to try to contain student accommodation and reduce infiltration into the wider residents areas, says eThekwini Municipality.

Responding to queries by Berea Mail on the project, the city’s acting head of communications Mandla Nsele said the project was being finalised by the Land Use Management Project Office for student accommodation around a designated project area in the vicinity of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Westville and Howard College campuses.

“From a Municipality perspective, we are trying to contain student accommodation and decrease and reduce infiltration into the wider residential areas which is currently happening. At present the Municipality does not have a policy to guide where this happens. The study will address this,” he said.

Nsele said the aim of the project was to put in place a planning and management tool that would direct student accommodation in and around the UKZN campus proactively.

“While spatially locating the designated areas, the study will propose a set of principles that will be used by applicants to submit an operational or management plan with their planning application which will assist going forward. The study will assist in reducing some of the challenges that residents are facing at the moment around the UKZN area with regards to student accommodation,” said Nsele.

Residents are urged to attend a community meeting at St Cyprian’s Church, Umbilo Road tonight, 28 June at 5.30pm where details around the proposed project will be discussed.

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