The Brakpan Tennis Club was once the pride of the sporting fraternity in town, but, over the past few years, became a home to vagrants and a dumping site.
Residents in the area have been requesting action from the metro for as long as five years, but nothing was done until recently, when the unsightly building was demolished completely.
Some of the vagrants who used to live in the building have moved their belongings to a corner of the property, which is fenced off, and continue to live there.
Situated along Kingsway Avenue, the property was engulfed in long grass and rubbish.
Outside, the tennis courts were barely intact, with weeds growing through the cracks on the surfaces.
A resident of Kingsway Avenue who has fought for many years to have the building demolished told the Herald she is delighted.
“The situation was becoming unbearable lately; the people living in the building used to urinate in full site of the residents in the area,” said the woman, who did not want to be named.
When the Herald visited the club previously, a disgusting smell emanated from the toilet area.
There was no running water or any other facilities and buckets full of human waste were seen in one of the rooms.
“Other people started to dump their rubbish on the premises and the situation was heading for disaster,” said the resident.
“The metro should continue to get rid of all the other derelict buildings in this town. They only create shelter for vagrants.”
The Brakpan Bowling Cub is situated next to the former tennis club and members have also tried for many years to have the building restored or demolished.
Andrew Marshall, chairperson of the club,said this was definitely a positive step taken by the metro.
