Notorious Queen Street house demolished

Update

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - The notorious house at 11 Queen Street, Graaff-Reinet, was eventually demolished after the owner gave instructions to N1 Construction to flatten the house and remove the rubble.

This house has been a cause for great concern ever since it was destroyed in a fire in March and subsequently turned into a breeding ground for crime.

The Graaff-Reinet Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRPA) believed that the demolishment of the house followed the recent submission of two petitions – one by members of the GRRPA and the other by Ward Councillor Ricardo Smith on behalf of the GRRPA – to the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality.

The GRRPA appealed to the municipality to 'act in accordance to the by-law of the municipality in this regard and petitioned the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality to 'contact the owner and give him notice that the house must be flattened within the required timeframe, failing which either the municipality or some other contractor would flatten the house and clean up the mess'.

The bill for such would then become the owner's responsibility. The by-law about this matter is the Municipal by-law on the Prevention of Public Nuisances & Keeping of Animals.

"This property has become a war zone. In addition to the house being a huge safety risk, it is also an eyesore. For these reasons, we respectfully request urgent action to be taken and those tasked to bring this situation to an end to be held accountable in doing so, and that we be kept informed." the GRRPA concluded.

According to some members of council, the Queen Street house issue and the petitions were never discussed in council, and it can therefore be assumed that the demolishment was not due to any municipal intervention.

Other buildings

After the demolishment of the Queen Street house, the GRRPA shifted their focus to the situation at the old swimming pool and waterworks buildings.

"The same by-law that applied to the house at 11 Queen Street also applies to these buildings and it will be interesting to hear what council has to say about that," says the GRRPA.

"Those buildings will have to be fixed up or demolished - either way, the municipality will have to comply."

The GRRPA were under the impression that the matter was on the agenda for deliberation at the council meeting scheduled for Wednesday 12 October 2022. This meeting was adjourned as there were too many items on the agenda. It was announced that the remaining items will be discussed this week, but at the time of going to press no notice of a council meeting has been published yet.

Graaff-Reinet Advertiser managed to establish that the GRPPA petitions were not included in the agenda for last week's council meeting and therefore, it can be assumed that it will not be discussed at the next council meeting.

However, unoccupied and vandalised municipal properties have been under discussion and council is in process of determining whether these properties should be demolished or whether it can still be leased or disposed of to generate revenue.

This followed the Building Inspector's presentation on 15 March 2022 of a conditional assessment report after conducting inspections in August 2021.

Chapter 1, Section 3 (k) of the Municipal by-law on the Prevention of Public Nuisances and Keeping of Animals prohibits any person from allowing buildings or vacant land to become: (i) unsightly, offensive or in a state of disrepair to such an extent that the values of adjacent properties are detrimentally effected; (ii) a home or shelter for squatters or vagrants; (iii) overgrown with neglected lawns, trees, shrubs or other cultivated or uncultivated vegetation; (iv) inundated with an unsightly accumulation of papers, cartons, garden refuse, rubble and/or waste materials, or (v) a depository for waste materials.

The old swimming pool is almost in a state of disrepair and the GRPPA is of the opinion that it should be fixed, sold or demolished. Photo: Chriszanne Janse van Vuuren