Business owner Bob Gillies is particularly concerned about the green sheeting removed by the metro and wants to know if the sheets are available at the metro’s stores or has it been moved elsewhere.
But according to the metro spokesman Sam Modiba, for years they proceeded to clean the area twice per annum and to fix the fence and they recently discovered that the fence sheeting was removed.
Gillies says in the article ‘Derelict tennis courts’ (Advertiser, November 7), the metro states they have sent out officials who found metro workers removing the corrugated sheets for fear of the sheets being stolen as a few had already been stolen.
“The metro did not remove the said green sheeting, which means that it must have been stolen” says Modiba
Modiba adds the metro will now remove the remainder of the fence, rehabilitate and clean the area.
“There are no sheets to remove at this stage as it has been removed at the beginning of November by metro workers, so where did the sheets go to,” asks Gillies.
The Valedale Tennis Club disbanded more or less 14 years ago.
Efforts to lease the facility to tennis or any other club failed. Soon after the tennis club moved out vandals burned down the clubhouse and reduced it to a ruins.
The tennis courts themselves exceeded their life span and it is structurally not possible to repair them.
Modiba says developers including individuals such as Charles Smit, Gordy Smit and Johan Esterhuisen made an offer to buy the stand from council.
“This offer fell through,” he adds.
Other parties interested in buying the property such as Henlo Meyer from Markon were referred to the metro’s Corporate and Legal Department, without success.
The plot is currently on the metro’s list of properties to be transferred from sports and recreation to the metro’s Real Estate Department .
