Plan for street committee in Pioneer Valley

Pioneer Valley residents complained about inadequate policing and other problems in their community, at a meeting with SAPS and the Table Community Police Forum last week.

This after several residents spoke to Tabletalk about problems in the housing development (“Safety fears at new housing project,” Tabletalk, May 19), including the encroachment of a nearby squatter camp and what they feel are inadequate policing and access to public transport.

Pioneer Valley uses the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) and gives opportunities to first-time property owners.

Table View SAPS, the CPF, neighbourhood watches, armed response companies and Community Medics met the residents on Wednesday May 19 to hear their concerns. CPF chairman David Harris said they had talked about setting up a street committee in the community.

“We will monitor the situation there and help them get started. They are starting their own CPF, street committee, and we have encouraged them to become members of one of the neighbourhood watches. The watches, SAPS and armed response companies are doing regular patrols in that area now as well as the rest of Table View,” he said.

Melissa Cullen is the spokeswoman for Community Schemes Management Services (CSMS), the managing agent for the Pioneer Valley Home Owners’ Association and the developer, Imvula Estates.

“The developer and ourselves have been made aware of the major concerns in the last year. After meeting the owners, it was understood that some of the issues and concerns can be reported directly to the City of Cape Town,” she said.

“We approached a security company, and they advised that the best solution is that each owner has their own alarm system installed where they have a panic button and can use this to call an immediate response van any time it is needed. This has not yet been shared with the owners as we are still looking over what they are offering the owners before we share this option.”

In a statement, Imvula Estates said: “As the developer, we do all in our power to protect the boundary between the nature reserve (City land), the land currently subject to the illegal squatter invasion.

“We have a security presence on-site to protect and safeguard the infrastructure and houses that are being built for beneficiaries of the FLISP subsidy scheme.

“A private security company patrols the boundary of Pioneer Valley, and there are also currently more security cameras being installed. The best advice we have is for our residents to keep putting pressure on the City and on law enforcement to provide the service that is their constitutional right.”

Themba Bheka, a homeowner at Pioneer Valley, said that he had discussed a neighbourhood watch for their community with other residents on previous occasions.

“It seems like things are turning for the better because in the last week we’ve had the City say that they will be looking into our issue for the MyCiTi buses and now we have had SAPS and security role-players take notice of us. We can finally feel like part of the greater Table View area now and hopefully sleep a little easier knowing that we will have patrols in the area,” he said.