The ongoing saga of 317 Currie Road

THE controversy around the development at 317 Currie Road has come under the spotlight once again after a judgement delivered in the High Court on 28 September launched an urgent application against the developers, Serengeti Rise Industries (Pty) Ltd, compelling the company to return scaffolding and hired equipment to Nela Kahle cc.

Over the past three years of court cases surrounding the development, building was halted, but the scaffolding around the building remained in place. Through the judgment in September, Serengeti Rise has been lumbered with an order requiring it to pay R20 920 532 for rental for the period August 2015 to June 2017, together with interest, effectively taking the judgment to around R26 million.

Commenting on this latest development, Cheryl Johnson and Kevin Dunkley from Save Our Berea said: “It seems that this development is mired in controversy, with now four court cases, at last count. The position of Save Our Berea remains unchanged. We abhor this development and our questions to the eThekwini Municipality remain unanswered. Why would the municipality approve a rezoning that has never been used on the Berea before? Why would they, by granting this rezoning, enrich one developer over the protests of just about every other ratepayer in the area? Why would the municipality grant this rezoning when their own professional town planning consultants, who we are sure were paid handsomely for their services, show a completely different and less obtrusive zoning in their brand new planning scheme?”

ALSO READ: Save Our Berea calls on Public Protector to investigate Currie Road debacle

The activist duo believe the whole process surrounding 317 Currie Road was the subject of an investigation by the Integrity and Investigative Unit of the City.

“Why will they not release this report? What does that report say? In 1982, the Swedish philosopher, Sissela Bok said ‘I believe that a guarantee of public access to government information is indispensable in the long run for a democratic society; if officials make public only what they want citizens to know, then publicity becomes a sham and accountability meaningless.’ Provisions on information in our Constitution back up this quote and supposedly guarantee this right, yet our city officials don’t seem to care. We challenge the City to give us the truth,” they said.

Johnson and Dunkley, together with Tayob ‘Pops’ Aboobaker, who has battled the development since 2015, raised the question that if the scaffolding was removed, would the building’s structural integrity be undermined.

Work on the building recommenced in June this year sparking a litany of complaints from neighbouring residents that rubble and chunks of concrete were being strewn onto their driveway and patios and the dust entering bedrooms and living rooms. One resident complained that a window was damaged when a scaffolding pole crashed through it and that falling rocks from the development had smashed the windscreen of a vehicle parked in the neighbouring property.

Aboobaker said cracks were also appearing in the border wall between 317 and 311 Currie Road as well as in the driveway leading up to the garage at the rear of the building, which he believed were being caused by the foundations of the development at 317.

“Reports that I have received from some sources indicate that it is possible that the stability of the structure would have been affected given that no building work was done upon the structure for a period of about three years. It is necessary for a structural engineer to verify the stability of the building, however, I doubt that the developers will provide access for such verification to be done. Complaints to the authorities about falling debris resulted in a superficial investigation in which residents affected were not consulted. The pictures which were submitted to the Municipality spoke for themselves in relation to the damage caused,” he said.

Aboobaker said in his view, the judgment regarding the scaffolding was well-reasoned and unlikely to be set aside on appeal.

“I understand that leave to appeal has been refused and that the developer is petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal,” he said.

ALSO READ: War on town planning issues not over, say civic activists

Speaking on behalf of Serengeti Rise, Marelise van der Westhuizen, Chairperson of Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc, said building on site had commenced after the Constitutional Court had thrown out the appeal.

“Our client doesn’t agree with the judgment handed down on 28 September to pay back what is owning in terms of the scaffolding and equipment rental agreement and has issued a supplementary affidavit to appeal the judgment. The judge has reserved judgment for leave to appeal the judgment and we wait on a response,” she said.

Van der Westhuizen said the intention was to complete the building.

“There has been no loss to structural integrity and as far as health and safety and building regulation concerns, everything is in tact and not compromised. The building inspector will confirm this,” she said.

An expert’s view

STRUCTURAL engineer, Dr Moses Kiliswa, said generally excavations like 317 were not supposed to be left open for a long period of time and the development of cracks at the neighbouring property was cause for concern.

“This issue needs to be addressed. If it is not, this could be a problem to neighbouring properties if the developers keep on building. It could mean the excavation is unstable, which is a risk. The development of cracks could lead to a structural issue. The building itself might be ok structurally, but the neighbouring properties might not be,” he said.

Kiliswa said the removal of scaffolding would not be an issue as they did not play a role in supporting the structure at all.

Also of concern, he said, was whether the drawings for the development showed a nine storey building and not the four as initially stated, as the foundations would need to be strong enough to support the nine storey development.

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