Paradise lost for Beverley residents

David Foley, chairperson of the Sector 4 Douglasdale Community Policing Forum said that on 16 October a party was held at Oasis Lodge. During that time, Foley said loud noise could be heard and party guests lined both sides of Mulbarton Road with their vehicles. The situation became so unbearable for residents that the Douglasdale police were called in.

Warrant Officer Balan Muthan, head of communications for the Douglasdale police confirmed that officers did go to the lodge to speak to the party guests and asked them to reduce their noise level. Councillor for Ward 94 John Mendelsohn said Oasis lodge was only zoned to operate as a bed and breakfast. “I am going to take concerted action to make sure Oasis Lodge sticks to their zoning rights,” he said. According to Nthatisi Modingoane, spokesperson for City of Joburg, the property on which Oasis Lodge stands is zoned for a guesthouse.

“The number of rooms is limited to 15 and the facilities on the property such as dining, conference and bar can only be used by bonafide guests and are not open to the public,” Modingoane said.

Owner of Oasis Lodge, Ziad Nour explained that on 16 October a guest at the lodge threw a birthday party for his son. “This guy has been a regular guest for years and is a respected Nigerian businessman,” he said. “We just provided the venue, they brought their own alcohol and hired a Nigerian caterer.”

Nour said that on 16 October he was not at the lodge because he was in hospital. “More and more people started to arrive for the party and when I called the guest to tell him that there were too many visitors, he said he couldn’t tell them to leave as it was not acceptable to do so in his culture.”

Nour mentioned that the lodge had actually been around for a hundred years, but had held different names over the years. “This lodge was here before the complexes were built around it,” he said. “Why did these people choose to live here if they knew they would be living next to a lodge?”

“All I want is peace with the neighbourhood. I want the residents who live around Oasis Lodge to come in and use the facilities. I don’t want this unhappiness with my establishment all the time,” he added.