Durban — Two illegal residences for students have been built on Westville’s Palmiet Nature Reserve and a third building is expected to be completed soon.
Tenants have already started moving into the 20 completed bachelor units, with a further 10 under construction.
“Who cares,” said the owner, who only identified himself as Mr Mbili, this week, adding that if you have “the means” you can do what you like in your yard.
He refused to confirm his full name because “it will have an adverse effect on the work that I do,” he said.
The eThekwini Municipality has confirmed that no plans were submitted for approval and no permissions were granted.
The buildings are nestled under trees at the entrance to the Palmiet Nature Reserve on Faurea Lane.
When the Sunday Tribune visited the property, construction workers confirmed that it was a hostel for students from the nearby University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
Some of them were on the premises and already living there, but UKZN says it has no knowledge of the building.
Workers gave us permission to view the units which consisted of a bedroom, a tiny bathroom with a shower, and a kitchen sink.
Westville residents are concerned about the impact that the hostels will have on the reserve, the noise from students as well as their property value.
Several “For Sale” signs have already gone up in the area but it’s unknown if this is linked to the illegal constructions.
According to correspondence from the municipality’s building inspectorate, which the Sunday Tribune has seen, it acknowledges that the issue was addressed.
“Please be advised the matter was attended to and the developer was advised to stop the work on site. Seemingly he continued after having been served with section 4.1 and prosecuted by law enforcement. The matter will be attended to in terms of NBR (national building regulations) and advise accordingly.”
Mbili and his wife Nokwanda live in the last house on the lane, between a house at the entrance to the Palmiet Nature Reserve. They have constructed the buildings on the piece of land which is on the lower ground adjacent to their property.
He said they had been there for a number of years and got on well with the people next door. There was no need to get permission or inform their neighbours that they would be building “30 small rooms”.
He said it would not cause any disturbance because students would be going to class while other tenants would be at work during the day.
“We won’t cause nuisance to anyone, I only have one neighbour, otherwise I’m alone. All I have is this jungle and all the wild animals that are around,” he said.
“My neighbour is the reserve so the whole building thing was done in my yard. I just believe that we were within our boundaries.”
Mbili said they did it for “extra cash” and has challenged the municipality to prove that he has eaten into the reserve’s boundaries.
“This building, according to us, would be in our yard. However, I guess it’s just a matter of evidence between us and the municipality.
“It’s for them to produce (evidence), to say to us there could have been an overstepping on the boundary. But to say the whole thing is in a nature reserve is just misleading.
“Our stance is we built where we were supposed to in our yard. However, we need evidence for someone to say you have overstepped or encroached on the nature reserve and then we will deal with that issue.”
Mbili admitted that they don’t have permits or permission for any construction on the land.
“I’m a lay person. We rely on experts and I explained to the municipality guys that we tried one company who let us down, so we’ve got a new guy on board, so the plan and everything is ready and will be submitted. All that needs to be done will be done.”
He reiterated that it was his property and he could do what he wanted to and that, because there were many students in the area, people just assumed it was a student residence.
“They must produce proof to say it’s a student res, but we built extra rooms in our space within our house to make extra cash. We are in the process of (obtaining) all the permits,” he said.
The municipality confirmed that the buildings were illegal and that the proper procedures had not been followed. It said there weren’t any approvals for the buildings and land use management processes had not been followed.
Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said: “The property is zoned Special Residential 1. A land development application would be required for this use. There is no application currently. No permission has been granted as there are no approved plans.”
The UKZN said the building was not part of its student accommodation.
Normah Zondo, the university’s executive director of corporate relations, said the university only leased private residences when needed.
“The university is aware of the construction of many private residences around its campuses. These residences, including the one you are enquiring about, are not affiliated to the university in any way. The university owns many of its residences and only leases private residences as a need arises. All accommodation that is recommended to students is vetted by the university, applying strict criteria,” said Zondo.
Sunday Tribune