Councillors visit Leeuwkop Prison to address piggery issues
GLENFERNESS – After Lonehill, Glenferness, Beverley and the surrounding areas have been plagued by a smell from the Leeuwkop Prison piggery, ward councillors Annette Deppe and David Foley are taking steps to address the issue.
On 5 June, in honour of World Environment Day, councillor for Ward 132 Annette Deppe visited Leeuwkop Prison to highlight the sewage woes around the grounds.
The smell and leakages in the area have been a concern to surrounding residents since at least 2016 and appear to be caused by the piggery on the prison grounds.
The smell, as well as the health concerns, are shared not only by residents and leadership of Ward 132, but also of Ward 94 under councillor David Foley and Ward 93 under Candice James. All three areas are impacted by the smell almost daily.
“I decided to visit the prison for World Environment Day because I am passionate about the environment and I also receive many complaints about environmental issues,” Deppe explained to the Fourways Review.
“The smell coming from the facility concerns me, and also that people are working there in these conditions.”
According to Deppe, at the time of her visit, there was sewage at a knee-high level, and the area also experiences lakes of stagnant water and low water pressure from the pipes, which means cleaning occurs less often.
Deppe hopes that when she visits the area later in the month some of the issues will have been addressed.
“I will be coming back soon accompanied by Honourable James Seelfe [the DA Shadow Minister for Correctional Services]. I have requested him to pay this facility a visit because it is hugely neglected maintenance-wise and [in a] few other issues like housing, accommodation, overcrowding and the such like.”
In the meantime, Foley of Ward 94 is also trying to address the issue. After receiving complaints about the smell particularly for the last year or so, he has decided to start a petition for residents to sign.
He told the Fourways Review, “The petition will call for the City of Johannesburg to eliminate the putrid smell in Lonehill, Beverley and the surrounding areas and will be handed to Region A’s Auxilliary Services. I hope to get a few hundred signatures on the petition.”
To sign the petition, please contact the Lonehill Residents Association and provide them with your details, as they are helping collect information for the petition.
The Department of Correctional Services had received a media query about the issue but had not yet responded by the time of going to print.
Details: Lonehill Residents Association admin@lra.org.za; 011 467 2868.
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