UPDATE: Westville house – city says plans unapproved due to minor issues
Residents complained last week about a Rodger Sishi Road house that has been left half renovated for over a year.
RENOVATIONS at a Westville home have come to a halt due to minor issues in approving renovation plans, the municipality said.
The Rodger Sishi Road house, which was reported on in last week’s Highway Mail, has been left half renovated for more than a year. The property owners have employed guards to look after the empty shell of the house, but residents have expressed their concern that these guards have no facilities, such as toilets, at their disposal.
Residents have also reported that the guards have been seen washing their clothing in the Palmiet River.
eThekwini Municipality’s head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa, said the refusal to accept the property owner’s renovation plans was due to minor issues that needed to be attended to.
Mthethwa said these issues included additional fees required for new land use management approval (which has since been attended to) and that the windows, floor plan and sewer drain are in conflict with the site.
“The sewer stack also needs to be correctly shown. An inspection of the property on Rodger Sishi Road was undertaken by the city and the owners were aware of terms that should have been complied with.”
The municipality said a legal letter had been sent to the property owners, which informed them that only security personnel were permitted on site, and, for a dwelling of this magnitude, such personnel should be reasonable. These terms also stated that no families with children were permitted on the property and that suitable sanitary facilities be provided to the satisfaction of the local authority.
Other terms in the letter included that noise levels emanating from the site after-hours be at an acceptable level in terms of the environmental health by-laws, and that the deviation plan for the property be resubmitted for consideration for approval within 30 days.
“Building work is to be completed in terms of the approvals granted within four months and a certificate of occupancy be issued in terms thereof,” Mthethwa added.
