Save Norscot’s community centre
NORSCOT – While the fate of the Norscot Manor Recreation Centre remains uncertain, residents who attended a public meeting on 27 August can rest assured that the Ward 115 Committee is doing everything in its power to halt the proposed sale of the property.
Tyron Cosway, head of transport on the Ward 115 committee; ward councillor Chris Santana; public safety head for Ward 115, Ruth Fleming; ward 115 resident and activist Susan Mottram; and Lidia Jacobs, Norscot Manor manager
Ward 115 councillor Chris Santana explained at the meeting that while nothing was certain, he wanted an action plan in case the city council attempt to sell the manor.
Santana, together with Luke Goncalves of the Sandton and Randburg Heritage Society, said they wanted to try to get the centre marked as a heritage site, so that if the sale of the property was successful, the exterior of the building would have to remain unchanged.
Goncalves said that failing to declare the property a heritage site, the team would try to declare part of the centre a Blue Park. “This would halt any building on the property, but the process is expensive.”
Santana said, “Although declaring the centre a heritage site would not guarantee that it remained a community centre, it would have a handbreak effect on the sale process.” He added that the meeting was called to establish a support group for the centre.
Santana mentioned that city council had budgeted R800 000 for the upgrading of the Norscot library, which added to the uncertainty over whether the City of Johannesburg planned to sell the manor.
Ryan Conybeare, who was the ANC’s candidate for the Ward 115 by-elections earlier this year, was present at the meeting and said he had spoken to certain city council officials and was certain there were no plans on the table to sell the recreation centre. He said he was adamant that a document Santana continuously referred to during the meeting, which proposed the sale of the centre, did not exist.
Santana and ward 115 activist, Susan Mottram, as well as Goncalves, said this was not the case. “I have seen the draft proposal, you can’t tell me it does not exist. For you (Ryan) to imply that the document does not exist is untrue and misleading,” said Mottram.
Conybeare insisted that the city does not sell its assets. Santana and Mottram asserted that it does indeed, to fund the city.
A current example of this is Moffat Park in the south of Johannesburg, donated to the city on condition it remain a park. It has been closed and is being offered for sale for development. Historical examples are the city’s attempted sale of Kingfisher Park and Norscot Koppies Nature
Reserve, stopped by an alert estate agent (Remax) and the then councillor for the area, Denis Hunt.
Santana said the purpose of the meeting was to elect a Friends of Norscot Manor committee, which would spearhead a fundraising initiative as well as lobby for the retention of the manor as a community centre.
At the end of the meeting, 16 residents volunteered to become committee members. They will hold an inaugural meeting soon, where a chairperson and other officio members will be elected, and decisions on the way forward will be made. One of the projects that has identified is the creation of an electronic platform for members of the public to sign up as Friends of Norscot Manor.
A petition against the sale of the centre can be signed at Norscot Manor reception.
Details: csantana@ward115.co.za
Click here to read the document on the purposed sale of Norscot.
