Durban — The eThekwini Municipality says it has not received an engineers report from the owners of Moreton Hall in Morningside.
The report would be stating if the building is safe for occupation or not. Last month, the residents of the 15-storey building had to evacuate after a powerful spray burst out of a water pipe, destroying a wall at the foot of the building.
The residents who spoke to the Daily News on anonymity expressed their dissatisfaction as some had their cars trapped inside the building, while others said they did not feel safe.
The City’s spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said they were yet to receive the engineer’s report from the owners of the building.
“The Body Corporate as the owner of this property was served with several notices for the submission of an engineer’s report which they have failed to do so. Upon the expiry of the notices, the owner/representative will be fined,” said Sisilana.
She said a decision would be taken afterwards whether the matter would need to be taken to the Magistrate’s Court or High Court. Sisilana added the City had noted the failure of a portion of the structure of Moreton Hall was an isolated incident which affected only the structure of the building and not other adjoining properties.
When the Daily News went to Moreton Hall there was construction taking place at the bottom of the building and the trapped cars were no longer there. Moreover, cars of those who lived there were still parked outside the building with security guards patrolling the area.
The City also said the collapse of the driveway slab and retaining wall was presumably attributed to the removal of soil from the lower ground floor level and the undermining of the foundations of the boundary wall.
The City’s head of communication Lindiwe Khuzwayo said notices were served on the body corporate in April during the time of the illegal excavation.
“Unfortunately, the unauthorised work continued regardless, which essentially triggered the collapse of the driveway slab and boundary wall,” she said.
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