The metro and Hallack Road residents are working together and should soon be removing piles of dry felled brush lying in Target Kloof which pose a fire hazard.
The debris is still lying on the municipal commonage on the south side of Target Kloof more than a month after it was controversially felled by the residents of Hallack and adjacent roads on the border of Central and Mill Park.
The bush was bulldozed on December 19 and 20 by the residents after a series of attacks and muggings carried out by criminals hiding in the bush which stretches down from Hallack Road to Target Kloof.
Residents said they had been forced to take the action after repeated distress calls to the metro had brought no solution, and that they had eventually been issued a legal clearing permit by the municipal parks department.
Environmental bodies and residents of adjacent areas questioned why indigenous species, including several milkwood trees, had not been left standing, and raised concerns about erosion and encroachment of more alien species if the land was not quickly rehabilitated.
The matter got muddier still when the metro said two weeks ago it had no record that a clearing permit had in fact been issued to residents.
However, any differences seem now to be resolved.
A spokesperson for the residents, Davina Pugh, said on Tuesday the metro had committed to supplying trucks to remove the felled bush and also piles of rubbish discarded by criminals and vagrants.
“We stressed the need for urgent action because of the fire hazard from the piles of felled bush,” Pugh said.
“Our understanding is that the municipality is waiting for trucks to be fixed and that these should be ready by early February.
“As far as rehabilitation is concerned, the parks department told us they will source seed from their nursery.”
Residents said they had been forced to take action after repeated calls to the metro had brought no solution and that they had eventually acquired the legal clearing permit from the municipal parks department to do the job themselves.
E-mail correspondence between the metro and the residents seen by The Herald confirmed the situation.
Luthando Crab, a senior metro conservation horticulturist, said he was trying to source at least two trucks.
The aim was to have them available for the project at the beginning of February.
He said he would also check on how best to source suitable seed for the cleared site.