RECORD recently published a letter from a resident of Alberanté regarding fears of illegal building taking place on his street.
We have subsequently spoken to the owner of the property, the municipality and neighbours to get a clearer picture of what is happening.
“When we were approached by the owner of the property, we were pleased with the thoughtfulness of letting us know of the building and had no fears as it was meant to be a granny flat, but we soon saw that what is being built cannot remotely be described as that,” said one of the neighbours who would like to remain anonymous.
Concerns included industrial style pipes protruding from the property onto the street, the sheer scale and industrial look of the building, possible use of building for industrial and business use instead of as a residence and just the sheer scale of the double-story building.
Themba Gadebe, City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson, had this to say.
“Please note that an inspection was conducted at the above-mentioned property and the outcome is as follows:
1. The owner submitted a building plan for consideration which was approved for a dwelling;
2. The structure on site does not match the one on the approved building plan;
3. A contravention notice was issued to the owner ordering him to submit deviation building plans for consideration.”
A double volume granny cottage
The owner of the property says the property is 100 percent a dwelling, referring to it as a “granny cottage” with four bedrooms and four toilets (with two showers), a scullery, etc.
“It’s not a double-story, it’s double volume, so it means that there are vaulted ceilings. It’s a New-York loft type design,” said the owner.
According to the man, slight amendments have been made, none of which are on the outside of the structure and says that the industrial pipes are for storm-water drainage purposes.
“If this was built in the Meyersdal Eco-Estate or something like that, nobody would have batted an eyelid, but because it’s in this older suburb, people are a bit old fashioned and adverse to change or something new. This is a 2017 design – modern,” he said.
The RECORD visited the site and spoke to one of the workers who, when asked what they are building, said that it is going to be a car garage.
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