Woodview residents are up in arms over the ongoing eThekwini Municipality approved Phoenix Infill Project which will see the building of several properties on a Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D’MOSS) area, once it has been completed by developer, Praveen Choonilall.
The residents, who claim to be custodians of the D’MOSS, said it is “unacceptable that developers are taking over the area to build houses” on a piece of land considered to be a green belt. Prem Singh, a pioneer resident of Viewhaven for the past 35 years, told the Phoenix Tabloid that when homes were built in the area, the council allowed for the green belt to remain, as part of the environment and to preserve the trees and plants.
“We have been the custodians of this D’MOSS for years and it is unacceptable that developers are taking over the area to build houses on a green belt. You cannot develop on a D’MOSS property because the policy states very clearly that it is there for environmental reasons. The Woodview Ratepayers Association was never consulted about this development and neither were any of the residents in the Viewhaven area. We want to know how did council approved the building plans on D’MOSS land and for the developer to show us the necessary paperwork,” said Singh.
The chairperson of the Woodview Ratepayers Association, Theo Pillay, said: “All we are asking for is for the developer to produce the relevant documentation where due processes were followed – where the impact assessments are done in terms of infrastructure and roads, and where all the relevant departments consulted and approve of this project, these are the questions we want answers. There has been no consultation with the community or the ward councillor of the area and we want the relevant authorities to investigate and stop this project until such time that all the paperwork is sorted out. We are not against infrastructure but this is a D’MOSS area and we want the relevant authorities to intervene.”
Ward 50 Councillor, Lyndal Singh, said councillors are not given prior notice by the municipality regarding developments taking place in the wards. “It is only when grading commences that these matters are brought to our attention by residents within the various communities,” she said.
“In this particular case, we did go onsite while the grader was there. The SAPS had initially assisted in putting a stop to the construction until we got confirmation of the relevant documentation. Residents are not happy as they were never informed or consulted about this development, but this has always been the case with infill housing, where no consultation takes place and residents’ concerns are disregarded.”
Cllr Singh said she wrote to the various departments to get feedback on approvals and the environmental part of the project.
“Some of the responses that I received stated that there is an approved building plan for the site in question which was approved following clearances from Biodiversity Management Department and Land Use Management. According to the information received, the Biodiversity Management Department is not aware of the application or approval from the National Management Act being issued to the developer. The development appeared to be enriching to D’MOSS but the applicant has since submitted specialist studies acceptable to BMD. The building inspectorate is to monitor construction and issue contravention notices in case of deviation from the approved building. It would be nice if we as ward councillors are informed of housing developments taking place in our wards but this has not been forthcoming from eThekwini Municipality,” added Cllr Singh.
The developer, Praveen Choonilall, told the Phoenix Tabloid that the housing development project began in 2022 when he engaged with specialists to conduct certain studies of the area. “Following the studies that were done, we received positive feedback from the various line departments with no objections. We then drew our plans for the site which were approved in February 2024 and began with the project. Upon coming to the site, we were approached by the ward councillor and various people from the Woodview Ratepayers Association where we presented documents to them about the building plans. The proper channels were followed and approvals were received – we do not know why the association is persistent in stopping this development,” said Choonilall.
He said they have informed the members of the association to approach their lawyer’s office to view all the relevant documents, which Choonilall says has not happened in three weeks.
“There is no proof that I am doing anything illegal. They should not mislead other residents of Woodview to believe that this place has an environmental issue yet the documents are there for them to inspect and see that it has been cleared by various departments including the environmental department. The project will proceed as initially planned and all we are asking is for the association to stop hampering the progress of the development as it would have been stopped a long time ago if there were any issues with any of the departments,” added Choonilall.
The eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, said: “The development in Woodview, at 338 Viewhaven Drive, is part of the Council-approved Phoenix Infill Project, which commenced in 2000. In the specific case of 338 Viewhaven Drive, there is an approved building plan from February 2024. The building plan was circulated to all relevant departments including the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department. The plan was approved from an environmental point of view. Since the matter is now being addressed through a legal process, the city cannot further respond to the media on this matter.”
