Residents don't want 500 houses in their midst.

Residents are up in arms over a development that is taking place at the end of Bosbok Road.

An urgent meeting was held with the construction company on 29 March for the residents to air their grievances. Adding to the concerns of the residents was the issue of the giant bullfrog that had been spotted around the construction site.

Chairperson of the Duiker Ridge Residents Association Stanislov Gelman, who is also a resident of the area said that the issue with the construction site was an ongoing issue that had been plaguing residents for more than 10 years. “There are several issues that we have with the construction of more than 500 housing units in this area. Firstly we have had little communication from the company that is building here and we do not know what is going on. We were surprised to see trucks carrying rocks up and down this road three weeks ago,” he said.

Gelman said that the residents were in the dark as to what environmental impact studies had been done in the area and to what extent the wetlands would be preserved during and after the construction of the houses.

Gelman pointed out that they had concerns about the groundwater level that was already affecting the existing structures and that building more than 500 units would only add to the existing problem.

He noted that there had been no communication between owners of the land, the construction company and the residents.

He pointed out that residents had a right to know what was going on with the construction because it directly impacted on them.

He explained that if there was an entrance to the units being planned on Bosbok Road, this would impact the traffic congestion that they were already experiencing at the corner of Duiker and Bosbok roads which led into Beyers Naude Drive.

“If they are planning on building 500 housing units this will lead to an additional 1 000 cars using Boksbok Road to gain entry into the proposed complex unit and we have not seen any plans by the construction company on how they plan on solving this issue and other issues that we have with this particular development,” Gelman explained.

Another concern that Gelman noted was the impact the low-cost housing development would have on the values of their homes, noting that they had bought their homes for more than R1 million each.

Braam van Niekerk, the project manager in charge of the construction addressed residents outside the construction site. He said that the planning of the housing development had been in place since 2004 and that they had all the necessary documents to continue building.

“We have been busy with this for some time and it took time to get the necessary documents and certificates. Over the years changes were made according to specifications from the City of Joburg,” he said.

Van Niekerk was adamant that there were no frogs on the construction site, adding that he wanted to work with the community in allaying their issues.

“The construction company is just the company contracted to do the civil work but they have a contract with the owners of the property.”

He said that the wetlands inside the site would be preserved in accordance to specifications from the city and promised residents to furnish them with the relevant documentation obtained from the City.

Spokesperson for the Joburg Road Agency (JRA) Bertha Scheepers said that JRA would look into the matter to ensure that all protocol was followed by the construction company building on the site www.randburgsun.co.za