A range of problems were under discussion at the Cottesmore Wetland off Cottesmore Road in Bryanston on the chilly winter morning of 10 July. The regional director of Region B, Vicky Shupeng, was there in person accompanied by representatives from Johanneburg City Parks, Johannesburg Property Company, Environment Infrastructure and Services Department, Johannesburg Roads Agency, Pikitup, the Randburg Police and Joburg Water. They joined residents Karen Doveton, Janey Edwards and Donna Sipton from the Cottesmore Open Land and Wetland Project, and ward 104 councillor Mike Wood, for a tour of the green space.
A recent cleaning initiative was featured in Wetland being addressed, week ending 12 July, but there is only so much residents can do on their own. However, Shupeng said that she is passionate about this project and committed to finding a solution.
Doveton explained to the attendees that security was perhaps the largest concern but also the fact that the land wasn’t zoned as a park and therefore did not receive any budget for maintenance. She emphasised the need to clear dense overgrowth and install a safe bridge over the river. Environmental issues raised included excessive amounts of alien vegetation, erosion of the riverbanks as well as looming danger from a sewage line.
It was established through discussion on site that the river had changed course and was never meant to run over a major sewage line, as it now does, threatening the infrastructure. A representative of Joburg Water pointed out that it wouldn’t do much good to discuss a bridge at this stage as they didn’t yet know where to put it. Such issues would require a long-term action plan, said Shupeng. She said she would identify the key stakeholders and put together a project management team who will report to her. They would also attend monthly resident association meetings to share ideas and discuss progress, she said.
Shupeng also talked about the possibilities of making use of the area with something like a domestic watch fun day in which they could take the opportunity to educate them about safety. The idea would be to show residents of the area that there is activity there and hopefully that would encourage them to make use of the area.
In the short-term, she requested Johannesburg City Parks to do a blitz of the area removing alien vegetation. An environmental study would also be a priority. “We will take it from there,” she said, “but we love this project, we honestly do.”
Mike Wood said that the Cottesmore Open Land and Wetland Project would be organising a fun day for residents at the wetland soon. Details can be found on the project’s Facebook page.
Details: www.facebook.com/CottesmoreWetlandsProject
