Residents say no to development
Arum Road is a prime target for developers, with many applications having been rejected over the years.
Table View residents have vowed to object to a new proposed mixed development in Arum Road.
This is the latest in a string of development bids for the Arum Road area.
According to Sibonelesihle Shabalala, the City’s director for development management, the application by Elco Property Development is for a 56-unit block of flats at 89 Arum Road. Two plots, erven 3736 and 3737, will be consolidated if the application is approved.
David Ayres, of the Greater Table View Action Forum, is against the plan.
“What they are proposing is a mixed-use development on the doorstep of the Bayside shopping centre. So we will see 50 to 80 cars leave every morning to sit in the traffic to town. The MyCiTi bus is currently oversubscribed and will be of little use. The traffic congestion will be horrendous. The current district plan states that in order to densify, the City must upgrade the infrastructure. The City has failed to upgrade this district plan within the legal time frame and has failed to upgrade the infrastructure in order to allow this type of densification,” he said.
Jenni Wyngaard, an Arum Road resident, said all the developments were an eyesore and bad for the environment.
“We keep paying rates and taxes in full, but the services we receive have been dreadful of late,” she said. “Late refuse removal, water disruptions, extended load shedding, burst drains, and these developments just add to the strain. I will be objecting to this and any other development they plan to put up in our area.”
Ward councillor Joy Solomon said there had already been 1 089 service-request calls relating to water and sewage issues from her ward this year, and that was because the infrastructure was old.
“Developers are applying everywhere in Table View, and these are highly densified developments. I have objected in the past, and I will object again. Having another development here will just add strain to the existing infrastructure issues we have.
“There should be no further development in Table View until the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works is upgraded. Elco has another development application at 156 Arum that we have objected to.”
Tabletalk asked the director of Elco Property Developments, Eldred Smith, whether water, traffic and sewage impact assessments had been done. “No comment,” he replied.
Residents have until Monday March 22 to send through comments and objections to http://www.capetown.gov.za/LandUseObjections.