“We are seeing more and more bars and taverns opening up in Ward 4. This is causing a lot of problems and headaches for residents,” says community spokesperson Linda Jager.
“These establishments cause a serious noise and disturbance problem as they start up their loud music by 17:00 in the afternoon and they only turn it off past 02:00 in the morning,” she explains.
And this is evidently the case every single day of the week.
The disgruntled residents have since lodged several complaints to the SAPS and the ELM to address this disturbance, via telephone calls, WhatsApp’s, official petitions, the ERPA Telegram reporting group as well as an official complaint to the Health Inspector at ELM.
“There has been absolutely no improvement in the noise and disturbance levels, even after all these actions have been taken,” she says.
“This is even after Kapitos at the SE8 shopping centre got served in early March with a notice that they need to submit a plan on curbing the noise disturbance. They ignored this notice and have been causing loud disturbances until they closed for renovations. This has been reported numerous times to our Ward councilor Edward von Bodenstein.”
Residents are also concerned that excessive drinking is leading to more accidents at intersections and traffic lights.
“Again, our concerns have been raised with ELM via all the official and non-official channels with no response.
“We have intersections with little to no traffic and stop signs and we have requested that ELM replace the damaged traffic signs. It was eventually removed after being damaged by vehicle accidents.”
The residents have now requested speed bumps in front of these intersections as drivers are speeding down Hendrik Van Eck and Andries Potgieter Boulevards.
“We are also concerned about how guesthouses, student houses, tuck shops and taverns are allowed to open up without rezoning and liquor licenses being approved.
“SE4 has several establishments under construction, preparing to start operating soon with no rezoning approvals or approved liquor licenses,” she says.
The most recent example of this is the 1 Hunnit Lifestyle Lounge that has been operating from the SE4 shopping centre in Hendrik van Eck Boulevard since 18 February 2022.
They had been operating as a full-blown tavern, promoting alcohol sponsored events but their liquor license application was only advertised on 2 March 2022.
This issue was also reported to the ELM, the SAPS as well as the liquor board, but still no action was taken.
“We do not want these bars and taverns in our ward anymore; we have the right to live in peace and we are now insisting that ELM retract their licenses and permits and force them to move away from residential areas,” Jager concluded.
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