Walmer residents want unsightly container removed

Is anyone missing a construction container?

That is the question asked by Walmer residents who are fed up that  a container has been left on the side of the road for almost a year.

The container is behind the Walmer police station on Prospect Road, between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue. 

The Prospect Road Residents’ Association has demanded that the container be removed, claiming it was left abandoned after renovations at the police station.

Concerned resident Martin Nefdt called for swift action by the contractor.

He said he was even prepared to oversee and pay for the removal of the container himself.

“The container has probably been there for 10 months now,” Nefdt said.

“Residents have tried for ages to have it removed, having gone to the councillor’s offices, the traffic department and the police.

“But they have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.

“The residents are at the point where they’re really upset because there are all sorts of people sleeping around it.

“I’ve told the other residents in Walmer that I’m prepared to remove and place it at a warehouse in North End, but it must be my property.

“It’s not stealing it, I’m just going to remove it.”

Another homeowner, Michelle Fourie, said the inaction by the police and other authorities had upset many residents.

“It’s unsightly and there’s obviously a lot of long grass growing on the verge around the container.

“As residents, we take pride in our properties and our own verges,” she said.

“The container makes it look like a building site here and I think it downgrades the whole neighbourhood.

“I’m aware there are many other pressing problems in Walmer and other areas, such as potholes and the street lights on certain roads.

“I know there’s also lot of poverty a few blocks away from us.

“So, something like this seems futile to the greater community, but our home’s are our haven for us.”

Walter Key, a resident of more than 30 years, also criticised the police and the contractors.

“After the police station, which extends from Main Road to Prospect Road, was renovated, the builder left the site and never bothered to take it away,” Key said. 

“The issue has been raised many times with the police and anybody who may well be able to do something, but nothing has happened.”

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the container belonged to a private company.

“We’re not responsible for removing it, the company is,” she said.

“The company was informed about complaints received from the residents.”

The owner of Pro Kaya Construction, who did not want to give his name for fear of harassment, said work on the police station was being done in three phases.

He said the first two phases had been completed and that the container would be removed within two weeks.

“The work started in 2019 but then we went into a lockdown.

“We came back and were only allowed to continue until November 2020 [before another disruption],” he said.

“I managed to finish phase one in January before handing it over and commencing on phase two, which we handed over about a month back.

“The final phase has only been going on for about a month and a half now.

“We were put off for the whole of last week as there was a Covid-19 case among the workers, which made it difficult for anybody to work.

“I have to make a living and put bread on my table but people are more worried about the look of their houses.

“I must work to earn something, and they sit there and watch my container.

“At the end of the day, I’m not doing anything wrong.”

Despite claims by residents that there has not been any activity around the container, the contractor insisted that his workers accessed it every second day for materials.

HeraldLIVE