Residents surrounding two substations in Boston say they’ve been complaining about the property for years without any long-term solution being implemented by its owners – the City of Cape Town.
The substations are located at Weltevreden and Rhos Streets at the bottom of Boston and residents and neighbourhood watch patrollers regularly deal with street people living on the premises, with some allegedly dealing in illegal activities, as well as litter strewn all over.
Both substations have apparently been decommissioned.
Both the Boston Neighbourhood Watch (BNW) and the Boston City Improvement District (CID) don’t have authorisation to enter the property and have to rely on law enforcement, which they say isn’t a reliable channel as officers aren’t regularly available.
Earlier this year, the BNW, as well as the Boston Ratepayers Association (BRPA) once again approached the City for answers after meeting them for the first time regarding the issue in 2020.
“Problem(s) of trespassing, loitering, causing unhygienic conditions, acting in disregard to the “no entry” sign, vandalism, signs of cable stripping, damage to City property, housebreaking on neighbouring premises, etc are rife and have been since this complaint was raised in 2020 and continued uninterrupted and in total disregard of the rights of lawful property and tax-paying owners,” BNW chair Sean Smit said in a supporting letter to the City.
Criminals also use the substation as a hide-out.
“We are all happy to meet on site to hear what you can do to solve this problem. And along with the various other parties, we are happy to assist. And no, we can’t be using the pandemic as an excuse regarding the complete disregard to residents surrounding this property.”
Residents close by also submitted a petition asking the City to “take responsibility for its asset” and “in doing so prevent the substations to become a security and health risk for the surrounding neighbourhood”.
They asked the City to “keep the area clean on a regular basis, maintain its structures, provide adequate security and provide the Boston CID permission to cross into the substation premises when trespassers enter.”
In another letter, residents from a residential complex next to one of the substations explain how the substations have impacted their lives.
“We recently, especially at night, heard sounds of doors being broken down, doors slamming andpeople (seemingly vandalising the substations) talking. We furthermore noticed an increase in houseflies,” residents say.
“It would appear that vagrants again are living or sleeping there and to us it looked like electrical cables are being dug up and stolen, in addition to the buildings being vandalised. Is this not a fire hazard?”
They say they’ve seen people scaling and jumping over the walls and entrance gate.
“The above is reducing the value of our properties and compromise our safety.
“In more than one instance, vagrants jumped over the substation perimeter wall into our complex, stealing items fromvehicles parked inside the fenced complex.”
Despite weeks worth of time to comment, the City failed to comment by time of going to print.
They did, however, clean the area a few days after receiving TygerBurger’s email and the request from residents, the BRPA and the BNW.
