Grocott's Mail
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Saturday, June 21
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Grocott's Mail
    • NEWS
      • Courts & Crime
      • Features
      • Politics
      • People
      • Health & Well-being
    • SPORT
      • News
      • Results
      • Sports Diary
      • Club Contacts
      • Columns
      • Sport Galleries
      • Sport Videos
    • OPINION
      • Election Connection
      • Makana Voices
      • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
      • Newtown… Old Eyes
      • Incisive View
      • Your Say
    • CUE
      • Cue Archives
    • ARTSLIFE
      • Makana Sharp!
      • Visual Art
      • Literature
      • Food
      • Festivals
      • Community Arts
      • Going Places
    • OUR TOWN
      • What’s on
      • Spiritual
      • Emergency & Well-being
      • Covid-19
      • Safety
      • Civic
      • Municipality
      • Weather
      • Properties
        • Grahamstown Properties
      • Your Town, Our Town
    • OUTSIDE
      • Enviro News
      • Gardening
      • Farming
      • Science
      • Conservation
      • Motoring
      • Pets/Animals
    • ECONOMIX
      • Business News
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Personal Finance
    • EDUCATION
      • Education NEWS
      • Education OUR TOWN
      • Education INFO
    • EDITORIAL
    Grocott's Mail
    You are at:Home»Uncategorized»What do we do about abandoned buildings in Gtown?
    Uncategorized

    What do we do about abandoned buildings in Gtown?

    inthehouseBy inthehouseOctober 15, 20142 Comments2 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Guests_Edit.JPG

    This week, Up4debate responds to citizens' concerns about abandoned and derelict buildings in Grahamstown.

    This week, Up4debate responds to citizens' concerns about abandoned and derelict buildings in Grahamstown.

     One example is the Grahamstown railway station, which has been slowly disintegrating since its closure. A petition has been started by the Grahamstown Resident’s Association (GRA) to save it.

    More generally, residents have expressed concern about the impact of such buildings on rising crime and on property values. 

    We ask: who can be held accountable? And what needs to be done to solve this problem?

    We posed these questions to Brian Jackson, Makana vouncillor and member of the Grahamstown Aesthetics Committee; Philip Machanick, member of the Grahamstown Residents' Association; Captain Mali Govender, Grahamstown police spokesperson and property developer David Davies.

     

    Brian Jackson: “Abandoned buildings … chase people away. This town’s economy depends on people coming here from other places, whether they be students, businessmen, visiting lecturers, tourists – they don’t want to come to a town that looks like it just emerged from a war zone.”

    Phillip Machanick: “A lot of us here would be very happy to help out with these things for free. We are not looking for extra income, we just want to live in a functioning town.”

    Captain Mali Govender: “We’ve often arrested people for being in possession of metal or beams that were stolen from there, but we can only charge them for possession, and that would be a state case. But we need to link it to an owner and no one was coming forward to say, '…I am the owner or the person responsible for this property.’ Nobody wants to give us that statement.”

    David Davies “We are currently in an initiative with Transnet … we are looking at clearing the bush from Alicedale to Grahamstown and from Grahamstown to Port Alfred along the railway line, clearing the service road. And that’s with a view to create what we call a 'rail trail' which would be used for hiking, cycling, recreational purposes and horse-riding, creating ticketing stations." 

     

     

    Previous ArticleConcern about unleashed dogs
    Next Article Skills, not hand outs, needed
    inthehouse

      Comments are closed.

      Code of Ethics and Conduct
      GROCOTT’S SUBSCRIPTION
      RMR
      Listen to RMR


      Humans of Makhanda

      Humans of Makhanda

      Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

      © 2025 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.