At a meeting organised by the South Durban Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) on Wednesday, 6 November at the Merebank community hall, residents spoke out about their concerns. According to Priya Pillay, SDCEA environmental project officer, the meeting was powerful in terms of the response of the public to the proposed development.
Most residents felt negatively about the development and listed the following as their reasons: increased traffic and trucking; the number of deaths caused by trucking in recent years; the potential for increased social ills through trucking; community and land decay; noise, air and land pollution and the threat to children who walk alongside the racecourse to and from school.
The community members plan to create hype and knowledge around the issue and are looking to get legal advice on objecting to the development. A formal resolution was decided upon, including all these concerns and the gathered community members vowed to search for a way to oppose the development.
– erinh@dbn.caxton.co.za
