GLENWOOD residents are fed up with the establishment of student residences and B&Bs on their doorstep.
Residents in Lena Ahrens Road have been involved in a protracted legal battle regarding illegal B&Bs in the area for a few years, and were recently pleased with the outcome of two cases, involving two houses in the road. The case was won by the residents.
Resident Guy Perrins said in the more recent case, the matter ended up in the Durban High Court after residents dug into their pockets to fund a legal opposition against the owner’s application for a Special Consent application for a B&B. After winning in the High Court with full costs, the City has now ruled in the resident’s favour against the application.
In the second case, residents in the area started their battle with the operation of the B&B when it was sold in 2016. A B&B license is not transferable when a house trading as a B&B is sold, however the business continued after applying for a license which was granted by the city’s Town Planning department, even though all residences adjacent to the property strongly objected, and the owners bought the houses on either side of it to expand their operations.
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“Due to no management on site, and other factors, prostitution, alcohol abuse, drug dealing, overcrowding and high levels of noise, this was a daily nuisance to the neighbourhood. Four years later, Town Planning has now rescinded their conditional license due to non-compliance issues. The owners then still continued to operate illegally, however, the Umbilo SAPS, under the new leadership of Col Teddy Munusamy, raided the B&B several times, to have them closed down,” said Perrins.
He said these wins are over and above two other cases which the residents have won over the last three years.
“The residents are very much aware of the goings on in our neighbourhood and are also identifying enterprises such as illegal student accommodation and digs. The community’s track record on closing these are a 100 per cent success and should act as a deterrent to any unscrupulous property owners and agents. We feel that as a community we need to stand together and protect our vibrant Glenwood community, family lifestyles, and property values,” he said.
Recently, residents staged a protest outside a property that was up for auction in Howard Avenue. Perrins said the auctioneers had advertised the property as suitable for student accommodation.
“The community objects to the sale of this lovely home for conversion into a students res,” he said.
Commenting on the issue, Wesley Johnston from the property division at Ian Wyles Auctioneers, said the brochure on the house states that the opportunity to use the property as student accommodation has been advertised subject to approval by the council and compliance with municipal by-laws of which that responsibility would rest with the purchaser.
“There has been no promotion of the property being sold as a running student accommodation residence, and the brochure states that the location offers great potential for this spacious residence to be utilised for student accommodation, however subject to municipal approval. There is nothing unlawful or misleading concerning the use of this statement to promote the sale of the property. The advertising boards mentioning ‘student accommodation opportunity’ has caused significant hysteria of which the concerns put forward by the community have been considered and appreciated,” he said.
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