The RiverWel Residents Association (RA) is making the most of the dry winter months, significantly stepping up their activities to carry out some much-needed maintenance activities in their area.
“We are conducting various cleanup and maintenance operations throughout the area,” says committee member, Neville Burnett, who adds that the dry weather provides the ideal circumstances for the work to be done.
“We are cleaning open areas, removing invasive species, and painting the palisade fences that surround our green belts.”
The RA is one of the longest-standing and most successful resident’s associations in the Northside, having achieved a lot in its almost 28 years.
They entered into agreements with the relevant authorities, managing to raise funds and erect palisade fencing around most of the numerous greenbelts that run through Weltevreden Park.
“These structures need maintaining if we want them to last,” says Burnett. “The palisades have contributed greatly to safety in the area over the years. Because of these fences, we have far fewer problems with issues like illegal dumping and vagrancy that have become rampant in areas that surround us.
“Therefore, we undertake regular maintenance projects. We do repairs where we need to and we apply new paint wherever necessary.
“These ongoing measures are for much more than just aesthetic appeal.”
Since winter is also fire season, the association is actively working to keep residents safe by cutting fire breaks in various areas where the risk is greatest.
“We appeal to residents in our area to do the same. If your property borders on an open space or a greenbelt, an effective fire break might just save your home should a fire break out, which is much more likely in winter.”
Through their work within the Weltevreden Park area, RiverWel RA has managed to keep track of the different vagrant camps in the area, thus enabling them to act swiftly in the event of an attempted invasion of open spaces.
“We know all of the ‘residents’ within our areas, and they know us. The first prize is not having illegal residents in our open spaces, but it does not fall within the rights of the RA to remove people from these areas.
“We’ve made it our business to get to know the people who inhabit the existing camps. This enables us to swiftly notify the relevant authorities should any new people attempt to move in so that they can be stopped.”
