Hidden at the far end of eMalahleni, the once tranquil suburb of Blanchville is now literally falling apart.
Overgrown sidewalks and parks, streetlights not working, potholes and also the bridge in Second Street that were washed away in March 2016 all play a huge part in the neglect of the suburb.
“We have on numerous occasions asked the municipality to put speed bumps in Fleur Avenue because this has become a racecourse,” said Ms Charmain van der Westhuizen, a resident in Fleur Avenue.
The corner of Libertas Street and Beit Street.
The road leading to the bridge that was washed away in 2016.
She is also the organiser of a get together where residents in Fleur Avenue and Raadsaal Street highlighted the recent hike in break-ins.
One of the latest victims is Mr Herman Cairncross whose house was broken into on March 23. This was the second time his house was broken into in one month.
Second Street leading up to the old Middelburg Road.
One of the parks in Blanchville.
A streak of dog poisonings also occurred in Fleur Avenue over the past few weeks and residents are uneasy.
All the residents who got together agreed that it is high time that the municipality give the necessary support and clean the suburb up.
“This will be a good starting point. We want to be proud of our suburb,” said Van der Westhuizen.
Mr Johan Zwarts from the Community Policing Forum (CPF) said they urge residents to become part of the solution.
“Crime is the main issue we address. We are active, but residents must remember that the CPF starts with them. They are the eyes and the ears of the community they live in,” he said.
Avril Street.
Sidewalks in Second Street.
Zwart invites everyone to become actively involved with the CPF and said the next meeting is on Monday, April 3 at 18:00 at the NG Kerk Panorama.
Capt Eddie Hall, police spokesperson said two cases were reported in Blanchville the past month, a car theft and house break-in in Libertas Street.
“Residents are entitled to open a case of malicious damage of property when their dogs are poisoned. We take this matter very seriously,’ Capt Hall said.
Ms Riana Erasmus Bouwer on social media said she has sent several email to the municipality requesting them to clean up. She, just like many others, feels that their rates and taxes go into the municipality’s coffers and they also want services.
Mr Roy Cronje, Democratic Alliance ward councillor for ward 20, said he also sits with his hands in his hair because even if he reports these issues nothing gets done from the municipality’s side.
“We have ward committee meetings wherein I report every issue and give a detailed overview of the problem and the address. I went to the department of parks and begged them to cut the grass in the parks running adjacent to Second Street,’ he said.
Cronje said the municipality has no regard for motorists as they are now forced to use the alternative route going down Avril Street, then into Albert Street up to Ada Street. These roads are completely broken up. There is more dirt than tar.
Overgrown islands on the corner of Second Street and Gordon Road.
The post box is hiding in Gordon Road.
Focussing on the bridge again, Cronje said he was told that a tender is out to fix it but he has not seen a tender or amount yet.
Further down the road in Dora Street the main sewerage line running to Riverview Sewerage plant is not a registered servitude. This means that the municipality does not have a registered right over the sewerage line and residents built over it. This makes it impossible to fix the sewerage line if it blocks up or breaks.
There is also illegal land use in the same street.
Mr Kingdom Mabuza, municipal spokesperson said the grass will be cut and the area will be clean by the end of April.
For residents in Avril Street there will be no road patching for a while because according to Mabuza, the teams patching potholes are still busy with all major roads, before they will turn their attention to residential streets.
It is sad to see this suburb deteriorating. It once was a beautiful suburb with neatly cut sidewalks and parks wherein children could play for hours. Now it only is a sad tale of neglect.
