Dear Birdhaven Resident
We wish you a happy New Year and all the best for 2021. We hope that you are safe and well, and to those of you who have been ill due to Covid-19, we hope you have or are making a speedy recovery.
To those of you who have lost a family member or someone dear to you over this difficult year, we extend our deepest condolences and may you find strength at this time.
We all pray that our country will soon emerge from this pandemic and will be able to focus on all the goals set out in the past few years.
It is wonderful to see so many people enjoying our beautiful and secure suburb with their families. Birdhaven has and continues to be an attraction for walkers, runners, and cyclists, with many visitors attracted to our suburb’s convenient position, quiet streets, well maintained parks, and other amenities. Increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic naturally requires us all to drive with extra care and caution in the suburb, which we should all keep in mind.
In Birdhaven’s relaxed and sociable atmosphere, it is important to re-iterate the imperative to maintain appropriate distancing and mask etiquette for both your own and others’ health and to comply with the other COVID-19 related regulations when using any of our shared spaces.
The Birdhaven Ratepayer’s Association plays a central role in preserving and enhancing our wonderful suburb, our way of life and ultimately, value preservation too. The better supported and funded we are, the more effective we can be. Caring for Birdhaven requires the dedication of volunteer residents and close associations with City Parks, the James and Ethel Gray Park Foundation (JEGPF) and the residents’ associations of each of Melrose and Melrose North. We have a solid team of BRA committee members as well as additional residents who advise the committee on specific issues from time to time as they have the necessary expertise in areas such as the built environment, engineering, architecture, town planning, and environmental law.
Here’s an update on some Birdhaven news.
2021 SUBSCRIPTIONS
The subscription for houses or clusters for 2021 is R675 per house per annum. The subscription for flats and apartments for 2021 is R68 per flat or apartment per annum. The subscriptions remain the same as last year in light of the prevailing economic conditions.
If you are willing to donate a higher amount, this will be greatly appreciated, and we are most grateful to those residents who are able to support us with additional funding over the course of the year. We note that our service providers face cost increases due to, inter alia, uncertain petrol prices and material costs.
OUR BANK DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Bank: Standard Bank of South Africa Limited
Branch Name: Jan Smuts Avenue Branch
Branch Code: 00-42-05
Account Number: 0001948245
Please insert your name & street address as reference & email the payment confirmation to birdhavenrpa@gmail.com.
If you require an invoice, please let us know and we will attend to same after receipt and clearance of payment.
As you may be aware, joining the website of the Birdhaven Rate Payers is free and you can do this by logging on to www.birdhavenrpa.co.za and you will receive updates.
If you have moved into the suburb in the last 12 months, please send us your contact information so that we can update our database. The subscription period for the 2021 year runs from January 2021 to December 2021.
We are sensitive to the tough economic environment brought about by Covid-19, but we would be grateful for your support. Your support enables us to maintain, protect and improve our beautiful suburb.
All donations are used for maintenance, upgrading and cleaning of the suburb and we appeal to you to support our initiatives and enable us to preserve Birdhaven as the gem that we all know and love. We are proud to say that we are a source of support and growth to independently established, 100% black-owned service providers.
In the coming weeks, we will be focussing on-
- repairing and painting of the timber barriers around our parks.
- together with City Parks, procuring maintenance of areas of the suburb that require cleaning and pruning etc; and
- grass cutting, rubble and weed removal on pavements and general curb-maintenance.
2020 AGM
Because of the increasing infection rate towards the end of the year, we decided to hold off on having the AGM. We were not inclined to hold an AGM electronically and have decided to see how the first quarter of 2021 pans out and will hopefully schedule a meeting soon. Notwithstanding this, please feel free to be in touch with us if you have any queries or require any assistance. We will use this newsletter as well as follow ups as a basis for updating you on recent events.
ROADS
We are aware of the potholes in various roads, particularly Edgewood Avenue, Melrose Street (mainly at the top by the bridge) and Greenacres Drive. We have reported all of these to JRA and await further feedback. The holes in Greenacres Drive relate to the burst pipe that has been repaired several times, and hopefully this is now finally resolved. In Melrose Street, contractors have not reinstated the paving on the bridge over the M1 Motorway and have left two holes on northern side (on the left going up). Edgewood Avenue is a higher traffic area and there are some holes along the bottom section. We ask that if you see any potholes or road damage that you take a picture and report it to JRA by email and copy us and our councillor Dave Fisher – dfisher@iafrica.com. The JRA email address is: hotline@jra.org.za. We also thank Dave for his continuous support to the suburb and our initiatives.
We are also aware of road markings in the suburb which need repainting and certain speed bumps which require filling in certain areas and have engaged the JRA in this regard.
We also hope to procure the repair of the pavement along the southern side of St Andrews Street from corner Wrenrose Avenue to Corner Wingfield Avenue. This is opposite the blocks of flats going up from Aston Villa to Bella Vista School.
STREETLIGHTS
We continue to engage with City Power on certain streetlights that are not working. Please assist us in reporting these on the City Power Website and use the reference number on the pole itself as well as the nearest house and corner and description. If there is no number on the pole, then the description of the area and nearest house and corner will assist. Reporting can be done on www.citypower.co.za- select FAULT LOGGING or call Joburg Connect on 0860 562 874. Street lights provide a degree of safety and security and it is important that we continue to report any that are not working.
CURB MAINTENANCE AND GRASS CUTTING
We continue to supplement the work of City Parks with our own regular grass cutting and weed clearing in the suburb. To make our job easier, we ask that you please keep your curb and pavement clean and well maintained. For those re-landscaping their pavements, please remember that it is against the city’s by-laws to prevent pedestrian use of the sidewalk. This is especially important along the thoroughfares.
MAINTENANCE
We continue to repair damaged timber poles in the area and around our parks. We also assist with damaged walkways and the restoration of certain pathways where possible. We support City Parks where required on these processes. The timber poles and booms provide a vital barrier to prevent vehicles driving on unauthorised areas (which poses risks to park users and birdlife) and the illegal dumping of waste and rubble.
ILLEGAL DUMPING OF REFUSE OR WASTE
It is very unfortunate that illegal dumping of waste (including garbage bags, bottles, plastic cartons and other waste materials) and building rubble still persists. This is particularly so along Tyrwhitt Avenue, Edgewood Avenue and Melrose Street as well as in the Park and other open areas such as Henderson Park, Greenacres Circle and the road reserve alongside the shopping precinct. Our maintenance team continues to face this challenge and if you see any illegal dumping of litter or rubble, please let us know. Removal of rubble and waste is costly per load.
We thank the many residents who take it upon themselves to clean up areas when they see waste materials and leave the sealed black bags for us to collect or Pikit-Up to collect along the road. If you do assist, please ensure you do so safely. Our community is fortunate to have so many active and caring residents and we thank you for continuing to assist where possible. You can also collect Pikit-Up beige bags from depots and use them to clean up the area.
If you are doing renovations or building work, please ensure you comply with the applicable by-laws and use a SKIP for rubble and waste.
JAMES AND ETHEL GRAY PARK
As you may know, we continue to work with the JEGPF to complete the fencing of the Park. In the last two months, the Foundation received two generous donations which enabled it to install Clear Vu gates in Melrose Street, Edgewood Avenue and Atholl-Oaklands Road. Acrobranch funded a new gate by its entrance and we are grateful to them for that support. This leaves the last 500m to complete on Edgewood Avenue, North Street and Westwood Avenue and the Foundation hopes complete this process soon.
The JEGPF is a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) thus enabling donations to be tax deductible through section 18A deductions. Please go to the website www.jamesandethelgrayparkfoundation.org for more information about the Foundation and all it is doing for the Park and if you wish to donate to its initiatives.
The installation of the fencing is the first phase of a process to restore the Park to its flagship status to making new improvements which will promote safety, biodiversity, and the appropriate enjoyment by all, of the open spaces. Once the fencing is complete, additional upgrades such as benches, play areas and rest areas will be procured. We are very grateful for the excellent work of the Foundation under its chairman, Sunil Geness.
We are very grateful to MBCAP for deploying the Cap Green Team in the Park regularly. We are also very appreciative of the efforts of the Volunteers of the Park set up through Whatsapp. If you wish to join this initiative and add value to our work, please join the group for more details: https://chat.whatsapp.com/CYlTHbB6al9HGeHjsD5rIb
We continue to work with the Foundation and City Parks to achieve our goals for the Park and the suburb. We thank City Parks for its support and commitment to the initiatives of the suburb and are in regular engagement with its representatives.
SECURITY
Please continue to support MBCAP in all they do for the suburb. They play a vital role in our safety and security and we are truly fortunate to have their support and continued presence in our area. Please engage with MBCAP for crime statistics for the area and beyond. Always report suspicious activity to 0861 227 227.
DEVELOPMENTS AND SUB-DIVISIONS
The BRA objected to several proposed developments in the area in 2020, namely in Wrenrose Avenue as well as two in Wingfield Avenue. We will monitor developments as we wish to ensure that there is progress and appropriate development in the suburb but without comprising on our mandate from the residents to preserve Birdhaven’s character and property values and everyone’s enjoyment of their properties. We also bear in mind infrastructure and safety considerations. If you would like to more details on this or to understand our position on matters of this nature, please feel free to contact us.
Bella Vista purchased a house in Wingfield Avenue opposite the school which is used as an assessment centre and this was supported by the BRA within specific parameters.
We await an update from the owner of the Birdhaven Shopping Centre as to when development will occur on the site adjacent to the Centre. This will include upgrades to the parking, signage, and pedestrian access in Wrenrose Avenue and additional traffic measures around the Centre. The BRA has worked closely with the engineer advising the centre as well as the centre owner, and we believe the new measures will assist traffic flow in the area as well as parking and general pedestrian safety around the four way stop and Wrenrose Avenue.
DOGS IN THE PARK AND SUBURB
Dog owners are urged and reminded that you have the responsibility to clean up after your dogs, as is the norm and etiquette in world class cities and parks globally. We are continually faced with significant amounts of dog waste, and require everyone’s co-operation and consideration, to improve this. Please also ensure that your dogs are under control when in public spaces.
Please be in touch with us on our website or on birdhavenrpa@gmail.com.
Please always remember, if you see something, say something.
Kind regards
Birdhaven Rate Payers Association