Norwood receives funds for upgrades
NORWOOD - AFTER waiting for 15 years, Norwood has finally been allocated sufficient funding for new development in the area.
This comes after Ward 73 councillor Marcelle Ravid submitted a proposal for funding for a precinct plan to be drawn up for the Grant Avenue node. The proposal has been accepted and the money granted by the Johannesburg Development Agency for urban planners to be commissioned to perform a study and make recommendations.
Ravid said, “For 15 years, Norwood received very little funds from the City’s capital budget. Now professionals will be appointed to undertake a study of the area in order to make recommendations to the City for the upgrade of the entire strip. This includes infrastructure improvements, parking solutions, and a whole new look for Grant Avenue.
“It’s something that I have been pursuing for a long time and am glad that my efforts have finally paid off.”
Owner of The Ascot Hotel on Grant Avenue, Nick Obel said, “We have a core group of commercial owners in the node who own a significant portion of the asset value. We are now motivated to continue to drive the improvement of the node.
“This effort and provision of resources will initially be on a voluntary basis, but in time we will form a formal City Improvement District to improve, and together with the City of Johannesburg, better manage the area.”
Ravid added that bylaws would be revised to legalise the pavement culture of Grant Avenue. “A street mardi gras is also on the cards for later in the year,” she concluded.
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