Residents of an East London suburb are objecting to a Buffalo City plan to build ”temporary houses” on their doorstep, the Dispatch Online reported on Wednesday.
Despite furious objections from Braelynn residents — who fear the project will devalue property and increase crime — Buffalo City municipality (BCM) chief planner Craig Sam has thrown his weight behind the plan, saying the objections are ”invalid”.
Sam’s statement, in a report to council earlier this month, provoked outrage.
On Tuesday, residents said they were preparing to fight the case in court.
This is the latest in an ongoing fight between BCM and Braelynn residents over council’s plan to replace shacks in Duncan Village. It aims to move shack dwellers to ”temporary homes” in nearby suburbs, while proper houses are built where they are currently living.
”The objections [from Braelynn] as they stand are considered invalid,” Sam wrote in the report, tabled earlier this month.
This was partly because suburban residents would complain wherever the temporary houses were put, Sam said.
”The issue of ‘not in my backyard’ will prevail irrespective of where the developments of this nature go,” he said.
He said the project would increase social and racial integration and help achieve local government’s goal of getting rid of informal settlements within seven years.
But he pointed out that proper consultation needed to take place before council could decide on the project. — Sapa