The proposal for a building, currently under construction, to allegedly be diverted from a commercial establishment to a mortuary was met with great concern and frustration by the residents of Verulam who found out that it will eventually become a mortuary.
On Sunday, 3 October, the uneasy residents met with councillors and community leaders to voice their concern. According to the residents an application was made for special consent by the property owner to the eThekwini Municipality and is currently open for public participation and will conclude on 11 October. Some of the concerns raised by the residents include the devaluation of property, noise and traffic impacts on the residents, the lack of transparency in the application and parking issues. Verulam resident, Anand Archary, who is also a town planner by profession, said he would not support the application as it is “procedurally flawed”.
Archary said: “There are a number of concerning factors which all work against the establishment of the mortuary. The enquiry form has incorrect information, the ownership details conflict with the title deeds, there is no evidence that the applicant and the deed owner are the same person and no power of attorney is attached. The applicant has failed to demonstrate the full extent of the proposed mortuary establishment and is not being transparent to interested and affected parties.” Archary added that the property owner also did not comply with the guidelines of the National Health Act. He said in the motivation it is noted that the premises will be used for storage of corpses, however, the land use rights for a ‘mortuary’ will afford the applicant additional rights to use which includes area for identification of corpses and where autopsies are performed. “To the best of my understanding the applicant has not applied for nor met the requirements for a certificate of competency, which must be in line with the building plans. The proposal is not a compatible land use in a predominantly residential area, and the consensus of the residents echoes this sentiment. A mortuary establishment is freely permissible and suitable to be situated within an industrial area.”
A lady, who wished to remain anonymous, said although she lives outside the area she is still assisting her elderly parents’ objection to the construction. “I think what’s affecting residents most are the concerns of health, noise and traffic in a fairly quiet residential area. The socio and psychological issues that could affect the elderly and children is another major concern. Although there are commercial zoned sites alongside this proposed site, all are predominantly residentially used.” The eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said to their knowledge, the property owner is on site with approved building plans for the commercial development (shops and units). He said the property is zoned as commercial and that the owner has submitted a special consent application to establish a mortuary. “The application is currently on the public participation stage, which is running from 27 August to 11 October 2021. Interested or affected parties may submit written objections before the closing date. A copy of the application and its accompanying documents is available on the eThekwini website,” Mayisela added. The person believed to be the owner of the property did not provide a comment by the time of going to print, despite numerous attempts and promises to respond.
