According to Susan Campbell, a lawyer acting on behalf of residents, the owner of Ashfield Preparatory School has not followed the correct procedures to open a school. She claims that there are 23 restrictive conditions registered against the title deeds, and one restricts the use of the property to residential purposes. She also alleges that the owner of the school has claimed there were no restrictive title deed conditions in the first place.
Campbell claims the approval for the school to be built was granted by the City of Johannesburg – prior to the removal of restrictive title deed conditions, due to, she alleges, negligent misrepresentation on the part of the applicant.
She also claims that when city council officials visited the site of the proposed school in October 2012, they saw that the school had been built without approved site development and building plans. It is unclear why the building was approved.
In addition to the legal objections, Campbell’s concerns are focused on the 300 children who have been enrolled for this year, as neighbours believe the narrow street might not cope with additional cars and noise during the day.
However, 104 Ward councillor Michael Wood was not aware of any objections. He explained that if applicants want to change zoning conditions of a property, he normally gets the formal document from the city council. “When I receive the applications, I drop off the documents with the relevant residents’ associations for them to comment and in certain cases, lodge an objection,” said Wood.
According to Wood, the applicant must state what the intention is to change the zoning rights. City council is also obliged to inform owners of properties, in the immediate vicinity, of the intended change to the zoning rights, and the applicant is required to place a notice in the local press for three to four insertions.
The City of Johannesburg’s decision to change the zoning rights was given in the Provincial Gazette on 10 April 2013, and, according to Campbell, this was not an adequate notice period. Campbell said a notice should also have been put outside the property for at least 14 days so that residents could object.
Ashfield Preparatory School have been contacted by this paper but declined to comment. However, the school has presented all their documents to The Sandton Chronicle, including their certificate of acceptability to open the school, an approved application permit for child care services, an approved application for certificate R962, proof of payment in respect of the application forms, and an approved public health permit.
Details: ashfieldschool.co.za
