Business blamed for dust and noise pollution

RESIDENTS of Moseley Park in Sarnia, Pinetown have raised concerns over their residential area being turned into an industrial area. Speaking to the Highway Mail, Bridgeman Ngema said their area is engulfed with a panelbeating shop that consists of a blockyard and a truck terminal. The concerned resident said this has been going on for a few months, and it has caused a major discomfort for them.

ALSO READ: Westville Ratepayers association inviting the community to join the association

“The truck noise is unbearable seven days a week from 06:00 to 18:00. The dust from the trucks delivering the sand and picking up the blocks comes straight to the houses; sometimes even our clothes on the lines get dirty,” he said. Furthermore, Ngema said the industrial area has posed danger to their area. “The trucks are up and down, and it is no longer safe for our kids to play. My son’s transport to school used to pick him up right at the gate, but the driver stopped now because of the trucks, and now my son has to go all the way up the road,” he explained. Ngema said this rise in industrialisation in a residential area has made the infrastructure damaged by the floods even worse.

“Lately, with the recent floods, the infrastructure was affected badly, and Acle Road is very fragile, and it is the only access road in the neighbourhood, yet the heavy-duty trucks are up and down every hour of the day, and now they are busy expanding their yard, thus interfering with the flow of the river, making it very dangerous for residents,” he said.

ALSO READ: Bellair resident on a mission to start a community centre

Ngema said he has written to the municipality in an attempt to seek help on the matter. “The Metro police came in and had a chat with the business, which I was not part of. They returned to me and said I should write an affidavit and take it to the municipality. I did that, and I was told that the matter had been taken up with the Land-Use Department, and I am still waiting for their response,” he said.

Sandi Gadsby, a neighbour to Ngema, attested to the unbearable noise and said they miss their peaceful neighbourhood. “The dust is everywhere; I have given up on cleaning because the house becomes dirty a few moments after cleaning,” she said. Gadsby said another burning question they have is if the rates are being paid. “This establishment has been recently erected, and we do not know where they get water from. Do they even have a meter number? We also had an incident where they were burning something. The fire posed a danger to us, and we had to call the fire department to ask them to put the fire out,” she said.

In an attempt to get comment from the business owner, the Highway Mail went to the site and found two men who refused to give their names. One of the two men said the land they are on belongs to his grandfather and said they were permitted to be doing business at the place as they are paying industrial rates.