(Photo: Harlequins Rugby Club/Facebook)
Residents of Groenkloof in Pretoria are highly incensed by what they see as a comprehensive attack by the Tshwane metro council on their environment after several sports clubs there received notices from the council about the future use of the land or changes to the rates they have to pay to the council.
In addition to the notice to the Harlequin sports club, which is more than 100 years old, that their land use does not meet zoning requirements and they had to destroy all buildings and facilities for all practical purposes by April 13, it is especially the plans for a residential development with 1,800 low-cost units on the site next door that are troubling the residents.
Maroela Media recently reported on the council’s demand that Harlequin remove all its billboards and restore the property to farmland, in accordance with the “indefinite” zoning.
AfriForum has meanwhile become involved in the Harlequin dispute and its legal team has written to the metro council, among other things, demanding that the notices be summarily withdrawn, because the club has already submitted a rezoning application to the council in 2021 to bring it in line with the activities that will take place on the premises in many years with the council’s approval.
In a follow-up letter, the council was given until Friday to respond, otherwise AfriForum will approach the court for an urgent order to set aside the notices, said Arno Roodt, head of AfriForum’s community structures in the North region.
The organization also gathered members of the community at the club on April 11 to show their support for Harlequin and launched a petition against the council’s actions.
Where Harlequin owns its premises, the Pretoria-Vriendekring rents the premises next door from the council for 99 years. The contract was already entered into in 1957 and there are still around 31 years of the term left.
However, the council now wants to subdivide the site and make around 2,400ha of it, which is apparently not currently being used, available to an investor for development. On the other part there are two bowling alleys.
According to a report that served before the council in August 2024, then still led by the multi-party coalition led by the DA’s Cilliers Brink, the Vriendekring would get a new world-class bowling alley in return and they supported the plan.
The council would rent the divided piece to the developer at an amount described in one place as 7% of the tenant’s turnover, and in another as 7% of his profit, with an escalation of 7% per year. According to the report, this would amount to R275 000 per month.
This report and the public participation process that was presented in May last year, however, were modeled on a spontaneous bid by a developer that was made a few years before and has since been withdrawn or lapsed.
In the meantime, however, another developer has emerged who, among other things, wants to develop a residential development with 1,800 low-cost units, an office block and shops.
Earlier this year, during a meeting that DA councilor Shaun Wilkinson arranged with the firm on behalf of the community, Dijalo Property Development lifted the veil on the plans, but did not want to discuss the development with Maroela Media when asked.
“It is far too early,” said Hosia Malekane, chairman of the Dijalo group.
According to Wilkinson, the council official involved in the matter did not want to attend the meeting, because according to them the public participation process had already been completed in May last year.
This is also the position that the council has taken publicly.
However, Mia Geringer, chairperson of the Groenkloof Taxpayers’ Association (GRA), says at the time they raised several objections to which the council has not responded to this day.
One of their main objections is that the current infrastructure is already under tremendous pressure and can hardly accommodate a large number of users. They say in their objection: “The infrastructure in Groenkloof North has never been upgraded for any subsequent development. Sewage and water pipes are still outdated and cannot handle any additional loads. The original pipes were installed for agricultural use and not for densely built-up areas and large developments.”
“Even though developers may promise to upgrade infrastructure, who will be responsible for building new bulk services in Groenkloof? Developers only take responsibility for the actual land they are building on and nothing else. If bulk services are not improved in Groenkloof North, sewage and water services will inevitably collapse.”
Their objections were supported by the Muckleneuk and Owners and Residents Association (MLPORA) which speaks on behalf of the residents of these surrounding neighbourhoods.
Geringer says it is not at all clear where the whole process currently stands. The GRA has now submitted a petition to the council in an attempt to get more information. They are expected to meet with the council’s petitions committee about it next week.
“If we know what the process is, we can participate in it and air our objections,” she says. She emphasizes that the association is not opposed to all developments and understands that the metro council needs money, but transparency is of the utmost importance.
It is also striking to her that the notice to Harlequin came amid the controversy over the use of the Vriendekring land.
It is not currently clear whether the Circle of Friends still supports the latest plans or not. Maroela Media could not make contact with the management.
Meanwhile, Maroela Media confirmed that the nearby CBC-Old Boys sports club, which also got a 99-year lease with the council, also got a notice about changes to the rates they have to pay to the council. However, on legal advice, the organization has decided not to speak to the media now.
Wilkinson says he knows of at least one other sports club in the immediate vicinity of Harlequin that has also received such a notice.
“I believe there is specific attention from the council on certain sports clubs in Groenkloof, whether about investments, evictions or rates,” he says.
