Neglected hall is a criminal haven

A HALL that was once used by the Girl Guide Association has been turned into a home and hiding place for criminals and vagrants. This has negatively impacted the lives of Lytton Crescent residents who are now living in fear after their houses were broken into.

Douglas van der Merwe, acting chairman of Lytton close body corporate said he was astounded when he returned after the December break and discovered the hall had been totally abandoned. The burglar gates and windows have been removed and there is a bad odour that is coming from the toilets. The fence behind the hall has been cut and the grass is long which makes it easy for criminals to hide and enter Lytton Crescent.

“In a period of two weeks, the hall has been stripped of its infrastructure, has no locks on the doors and hardly any windows in the once well-kept building. The church which operated from there also does not use the building any longer,” he said.

“As a result of this activity, our complex, Lytton Close, has had our boundary fence damaged on at least three occasions since our return from the December holiday. One unit has been broken into and property was stolen, while others have had windows and doors tampered with,” added van der Merwe.

Ward 18 councillor Tim Brauteseth who visited the site since the recent break in to the property said he has established that the premises at 11 Lytton Crescent is Erf 2500 of Pinetown and belongs to the eThekwini Municipality.

“Since it is a hall, it can be assumed that it falls under the Parks and Recreation department. I will be making further enquiries in this regard and establishing who is physically responsible for the state of the property and whether any leaseholders are involved. I will insist that whoever is responsible for the property will be immediately tasked with the cleaning up and securing of the property,” said Cllr Brauteseth.

Brauteseth said it is unacceptable for property that is owned by the municipality to be in such a state.

“There are numerous clubs and NGOs desperately looking for a home and those that are fortunate to have lease agreements with the city have neglected their responsibility.

When this happens, these buildings become a target for criminals and a home to vagrants. I will take whatever steps I can to have this situation rectified for the benefit of the residents of Lytton Crescent,” added Cllr Brauteseth.