Urgent action needed on neglected municipal building

Stephen Early, Diep River

On the south-western corner of Kendal Road and Main Road in Diep River lies a municipal piece of land that is mostly vacant, except for a dilapidated old ablution building, a farmhouse, and some informal parking used by school buses and other vehicles. The ablution building, once part of a play park before it was relocated, can no longer serve its original purpose as it has not been maintained. It is filthy, dilapidated, with part of its roof missing, and the surrounding area is littered with broken bottles, bones, and the stench of human excrement. The site attracts bin-pickers sorting their collections, vagrants, and others.

My main concern is that this building is within about 150 metres of an after-school care centre, a crèche, a play school, a junior school, and a private high school. I walk my dog there and have been sworn at, and I regularly witness people urinating in the area.

In January 2024, I wrote to the ward councillor about this dilapidated and unhygienic municipal building. I am certain that parents of school-going children would consider it unsafe and undesirable to have such a structure near schools. I suggested that the building be demolished and the rubble removed, a task that could be completed in less than two days with the proper machinery.

My email was acknowledged by the councillor, who replied that my concerns would be escalated and actioned. Later that month, the councillor’s office sent me an eight-point timeline outlining the process the City would follow to address the matter. The first point, a preliminary investigation and inspection of the asset, was supposed to be completed by the end of February 2024. This was to be followed by steps two to seven, with the final step, a full council report, due in October or November 2024.

I requested updates in November and December 2024 but received no reply. In January 2025, after unsuccessful attempts to make contact by phone, I sent another email requesting a progress update. I received a copy of the councillor’s email to the relevant departments requesting their feedback. In February 2025, I repeated my request, but I have still not received any update from the councillor’s office or the other departments involved.

More than a year has passed since I first raised this issue. I am led to believe that the City of Cape Town does not work for me, as I have received no notification that any part of the timeline has been completed. Nor do I get the impression that the City cares about the safety of the nearby school-going children.

Instead of taking the initiative and addressing the matter, the City has allowed this eyesore to remain – and it will only get worse unless action is taken to uphold its own health and safety by-laws.

Richard White, Sub-council 20 manager for citizen interface in corporate services, responded: “I have engaged with the City’s recreation and parks department, who are the owners of that parcel of land. They have stated that they submitted a request to have that building demolished. The process commenced almost 13 months ago and can take up to 24 months until the building is demolished. In the meantime, I have asked that they clear the land of litter and illegal dumping.