Snarl: The temporary taxi rank, set up after the Oceans uMhlanga development went up on the former public transport node, is too small and has caused congestion in the area. (Lyse Comins/M&G)
uMhlanga business and property owners say the value of their apartments and trade has dipped dramatically as a result of the taxi congestion flowing from a dispute with Oceans uMhlanga and eThekwini metro over the development of a permanent taxi rank for the precinct.
The R4.3 billion Oceans uMhlanga development — comprising the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel and the Oceans Mall which houses top international brands such as Gucci, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana — is owned by Vivian Reddy, a friend of former president Jacob Zuma, and various shareholders including businessman Rob Alexander and the Public Investment Corporation.
Taxi operators blockaded the entrance to the uMhlanga precinct two weeks ago, bringing into the public eye a battle that has been raging between local property developer Cast Arena Trade Invest 121, represented by Rob Goulden, Flamingo Rocks and eThekwini and Oceans uMhlanga, for at least a year.
This is after papers were filed in the Durban high court to halt the development by suspending building plans and occupation certificates that had already been issued.
Cast Arena Invest 21 developed the luxury commercial and residential Beacon Rock property neighbouring Ocean uMhlanga in Ridge Road.
In the voluminous court application of more than 1 500 pages, Goulden argued that the developers are obliged to comply with the original Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (Spluma) application that was approved for the development. This included the condition that the developer must build an underground public transport facility at its expense.
This was to replace the public transport node that had existed on the development site and served the local community for decades.
According to court papers, Oceans uMhlanga had approached the municipality in 2021 to propose a co-funding solution to build the transport facility. The municipality agreed to pick up 70% of the costs to the tune of R128.5 million, but later pulled out, saying it could no longer afford to pay for the development due to the poor economic climate.
Oceans uMhlanga argued in court papers that the application to freeze the development and suspend the occupation certificates should be refused on the grounds that it would cause the developers “indefensible damages actions and irreparable damage to reputation”.
Oceans Mall supercars reserved parking. (Lyse Comins/M&G)
eThekwini metro’s attorney Siyabulela Mfingwana contended that the developer legally had until 29 March to construct the permanent public transport facility in terms of the Spluma application.
He said the municipality had no intention of letting Oceans uMhlanga off the hook and that the developer still had time to amend its original Spluma application.
“eThekwini, as the enforcement authority, is obliged to, and will, ensure compliance with the conditions contained in the Spluma approvals, including for the permanent public transport facility,” Mfingwana said in court papers.
But Cast Arena’s attorney Tina Halstead argued the approval had expired on 17 May last year.
The matter was adjourned indefinitely.
Almost a year later, Goulden and several other local business and property owners said this week trade has been devastated and property values have declined 30% over the past 18 months because of the traffic congestion caused by the lack of a permanent public transport facility.
The taxis are operating from a 42-bay “temporary” rank at the end of Ridge Road but, at most times of the day, also take up all the bays outside their premises, blocking the road and leaving no parking for patrons, the business owners complained.
“Retail operators have not been able to trade properly and have suffered enormously, landlords can’t charge the rent they want because tenants won’t pay and unit owners have suffered a 30% loss in the value of their units,” Goulden said.
“I have a unit next door and I have not been able to get a tenant for the past seven months — the previous tenant left because he said he can’t take it anymore — and I can’t sell.
“We owe it to the people that bought here to get this thing right and that is why Cast Arena is fighting — we have a moral obligation to get things right here.”
Beacon Rock body corporate chairperson and local business owner Dhes Mari said owners of the sectional title units had experienced a “significant decline” in the value of their property while, as a retail property owner ,he was only able to achieve 50% of market value.
“This is because there is a perception of the area being unsafe and untidy, difficult to access and chaotic. At peak times, you could get gridlocked here for 30 minutes in a linear 100m of the road. People feel unsafe [being] blocked in by taxis,” he said.
“Trade has been devastated because the outlook that patrons have is the area is less than savoury, and inaccessible from a parking perspective, as well as perceived as being dangerous.
“In our medical centre, we have had patients who have had difficulty accessing us during emergencies because of the traffic.”
Mari said just fewer than 200 taxis accessed the area daily but there were only 42 bays at the temporary rank.
Mo’s Noodles owner Jo-Ann Gibson, who has rented her shop for 10 years after moving to escape the congestion and lack of parking in Florida Road in Morningside, said the situation had “destroyed” trade as the taxis took up all the parking.
Rain on their parade: Taxi commuters have been left stranded because of the ongoing stand-off.
“It is far beyond what this road can handle and we have people queuing all along, waiting to catch the taxis, and the cars are starting to boycott the road. Ten years later, and business is worse than ever,” she said.
Goulden said in recent months business owners had come up with an alternative taxi rank design, at their own cost, which they had proposed to Oceans uMhlanga, and had held numerous meetings with the developer and the municipality in an attempt to resolve the matter.
“We have been trying to get a settlement with the city, in as far as we won’t continue the action, provided they undertake to build a decent facility to accommodate drop-off-and-go taxis and an acceptable ring road bypass as per the original approval that alleviates the traffic volume that at present is forced through Lagoon Drive,” Goulden said.
“If the city followed due process six years ago, and insisted on a financial/or performance guarantee from the developers to complete the road infrastructure upgrade and the public transport facility, we would not be in this mess today.”
Oceans uMhlanga chief executive Brian Mpono said the issues impacting businesses also affected the company.
He said eThekwini metro was responsible for the public transport and taxi needs of the whole of uMhlanga, while regarding the removal of the original rank on the development site, Oceans uMhlanga was “only obliged to provide a taxi facility that can accommodate approximately 42 taxis”.
“Together with the eThekwini municipality, we doubled the number, building the facility catering for over 90 taxi bays. Fifty percent of the facility is currently in use by the taxis and helps to alleviate the current challenges experienced in the lower uMhlanga area — which also impacted us,” Mpono said.
It was “incorrect to suggest that there was an ‘original plan’ for building an underground taxi rank”.
“We have observed that there is currently a conflation or confusion between the development’s obligations to the taxis [who used the old rank where the development is] with the overall public transport issues for the whole uMhlanga area. Oceans uMhlanga has met its obligations linked to the development,” he said.
“As a responsible business, that cares about the area, we have made a major financial contribution to the upgrade of the lower uMhlanga roads [widening the road and landscaping] to the betterment of the area.
“Our contribution would help ease congestion affecting us, particularly Beacon Rock and around Ridge Road. The road upgrades would serve and benefit the whole area, not only Oceans.”
Mpono declined to comment on the court matter, saying that because Goulden had not asked for the date to be set down “this gives a clear impression that the court is being abused and weaponised to run a smear and an information campaign against Oceans uMhlanga”.
Mpono added that phase three of the development, the construction of two residential apartment blocks, had started and was expected to be completed in 2025. He said on completion the development would have created more than 3 500 permanent jobs, over 16 000 construction jobs and 20 000 to 25 000 indirect jobs.
“Oceans development has changed the face of uMhlanga Rocks and has recently won the Sapoa [South African Property Owners Association] award for the best mixed-use development in SA and an international award,” he said.
eThekwini metro initially declined to respond to detailed questions but later sent out a media release advising that it would hold a site meeting with the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) on Friday, 6 October “to find lasting solutions to the uMhlanga Oceans Mall taxi rank challenge”.
“To proactively address the situation, the city has tabled short and long-term remedial solutions to address the operational challenges during a joint stakeholder engagement between the city, Greater North Region Taxi Council and the Oceans Mall developer,” it said.
“eThekwini Transport Authority has scheduled a site visit with the taxi council to determine a proposed new taxi rank within the vicinity.
“As part of the city’s ongoing short-term discussions with the uMhlanga Oceans Mall developers, it has been proposed that there should be an extension of the current ranking site to accommodate 90 bays for holding and ranking.”
eThekwini Transport Authority would conduct a survey on traffic flow and other issues regarding the site of the proposed taxi rank.
Santaco Greater North Durban chairperson Sifiso Mthethwa said taxi operators were satisfied with the temporary solution and that the city was working on creating a permanent taxi rank in the precinct.