NKRA Communique – May 2023
Hi everyone
We held our May public meeting over the internet at 18h30 on Wednesday 24 May. The various issues arising from the virtual meeting are included in this newsletter. Our next virtual public meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 21 June 2023. All owners and residents of Killarney and Riviera are welcome to participate. An agenda with a meeting link will be circulated closer to the meeting date.
While the situation in 1st Street near the Mall is still a problem, we are happy to note that the situation at the other (western) end of 1st Street is very much improved. The owners of the Lhenveolan building (in photo) have implemented a stunning transformation, turning what was once a problematic spot into a clear and unequivocal asset – for themselves and for the suburb. Hyde Court at the far end of the road was also once in difficulty, but it is now back on its feet, substantially refurbished and looking good. The refurbishment of these buildings has enabled an improved tenant mix with less overcrowding, and as a result the loitering and drinking which was a serious problem here a few years ago, has now largely ended. Many thanks to Charles for his years of dedicated effort in bringing about this valuable improvement to this once-problematic corner of Killarney!
Daventry Court and Killarney Court, also at the intersection of 1st Street and 4th Avenue, have also both been properly maintaining their exteriors, as well as their visible gardens. Their substantial investment also helps enormously to stave off the impression of urban decay, and uplifts the property values of all buildings in the area.
The two Martin buildings in Killarney were auctioned recently, and large bids were received for both buildings. However Dr Martin has not accepted any of these offers. The agents are continuing to seek buyers for both buildings. Once this is resolved, the upliftment of the vicinity will gain renewed momentum.
In order to help uplift the area, the NKRA has recently repaired a number of pavements, and some serious holes in the roads as well. However we were not able to address the dangerous holes in Anerley Road outside the PPS offices, because the municipal pipe repairs do not seem to have been completed yet. Cllr Huggett undertook to liaise on our behalf with the appropriate people at Joburg Water to get these dangerous excavations finalised and the road repaired. In the meanwhile, please continue to drive very carefully in Anerley Road and Federation Road.
Unfortunately, our efforts at repairing pavements barely had time to dry, before the municipal repair process popped up again. This time, they dug up our newly repaired pavement in 2nd Avenue to implement some sort of gas infrastructure. As usual, they did not reinstate the pavement, and instead left us with their traditional patch of mud, which will soon wash away to form a new and potentially dangerous hole on this busy walkway. We knew it would not take long for them to dig up our repairs, but it seriously makes one weep.
The NKRA gardener in the park is also addressing the weeds on the pavements and traffic islands in 4th Avenue, and he is giving attention to the weeds on the bridge in 4th Avenue as well. This type of effort makes a remarkable contribution to the general appearance of the area. Winter is now upon us, and hopefully the weeds will not grow back again until spring.
The latest feedback from the owners of the Killarney Mall is that their project to revitalise the Mall is still in the research and planning stage. We will need to wait a few more months before the draft plans are ready, and they have assured us that we will be consulted when the draft plans become available. Meanwhile, they are asking us to make suggestions about which new shops or services we would like to have, so that our needs and wishes can be incorporated into their research.
For all municipal service delivery issues, including potholes, pavements, Pikitup, electricity and water issues, you can contact the municipal Call Centre on 0860 562 874 to have your concerns forwarded to the relevant operational departments. Please would everybody keep on reporting these issues, and always ask them for a reference number. Please try to include photographs of the problem where you can, because the municipality seems to respond slightly faster when we include photos to support our complaints. You can also log municipal problems on MySmartCity, at https://mysmart.city, or download their App from the website.
From time to time, we have incidents of confrontation in the park between people with small children and people with dogs. There has been a suggestion to fence off a portion of the park so that dogs can be allowed to run freely (and legally) therein, without them interacting with other people at all – so as to achieve a win-win solution. Apparently some of the dog owners are willing to pay towards such a fence. We will need to get approval from Joburg City Parks, assuming this is even possible. In the meanwhile, how does the community feel about this idea please?
At the April public meeting it was proposed to launch a lawsuit against the municipality to compel them to enforce the municipal by-laws. An advocate in Killarney has offered to lead this process pro bono on behalf of the community, but we also need an attorney to volunteer to undertake the attorney-level activities. In the previous newsletter we asked attorneys who live in Killarney to volunteer, but so far we have had no response. If we succeed in getting a court order forcing the municipality to actually do its job, it will be a great leap forward for our area, but it would also be a wonderful precedent for all of South Africa. If there are any attorneys living in Killarney-Riviera, please would you step forward and volunteer to assist the community with this process?
At the same time, we note that the lawsuit to correct the serious over-billing of sewerage costs, is still proceeding at a glacial pace. Apparently the delay was caused in part by additional buildings progressively joining the project. The law firm which is handling this case has apologised for the slowness, but has assured us that the preliminary steps have been concluded, and that we should see more rapid progress from now on.
Crime is always with us. Once again, residents are strongly reminded not to display cell-phones or other valuables on the pavements, because criminals are constantly watching for opportunities to snatch small but high-value possessions. We continue to make our case at the Community Policing Forum for the police to increase their street patrols in our area, and to focus more attention on our security challenges.
So far 33 buildings out of the 55 sectional title buildings in Killarney-Riviera have paid their NKRA membership subscriptions for the year ahead – this is about 60% of the total. The current list of the members for 2023 so far is as follows:
- Berkeley Square
- Beverley Heights
- Biarritz
- Brenthurst Court
- Bretton Woods
- Canterbury Close
- Castlerosse
- Chelston Hall
- Christina Court
- Devon Place
- Dumbarton Oaks
- Earls Court
- Glenhof Gardens
- Greenhills
- Hampshire Mews
- Hyde Court
- Interlaken
- Killarney Court & Gardens
- Killarney Hills
- Killarney Village
- Killarney Wilds
- Kingsborough
- Knightsbridge
- Mentone Court
- Monviso
- Park Avenue
- Portofino
- Rapallo
- Riviera Mansions
- Riviera Villas
- Sevenoaks
- Splice
- The Rivieras
Many thanks indeed to all these buildings for your on-going support. Thank you also to the various people who make personal donations as well.
The Killarney Mall has approached us to do a joint project for Mandela Day on 18 July, when Nelson Mandela’s birthday is traditionally celebrated by all citizens performing 67 minutes of volunteer community service. Please let us know if you have any specific suggestions for celebrating this occasion as a community?
Please would the NKRA members provide feedback on the various issues described above? We are happy to receive photos of any interesting things that might be happening around our area, which we might include in future newsletters. We also welcome all suggestions from all residents, on all issues.
Our next virtual meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 21 June 2023.
Greetings to all, keep well, and keep safe.
Wayne Ford