Residents of Protea Glen Ext 35 in Soweto are up in arms and pushing back against plans to develop a private cemetery near their homes, saying it will cause traffic congestion, crime and a decline in property values.
Businessman Tim Hogins, who owned the now-defunct GOG Gardens and Lifestyle Park in Protea Glen Ext 35, is set on developing a private cemetery which can accommodate up to 11,000 graves on his farm in was originally Zuurbekom.
The Rand West City municipality has approved his plan, much to the annoyance of residents.
Kagiso Simane, an Ext 35 resident, told Sowetan this week the cemeterywill bring more harm than good. During weekdays, traffic starts building up around 2pm, and on weekends as early as 10am. Now, imagine what will happen when we have funerals. This area is already congested. We will have messy weekends.
Simane, a nurse, also raised concerns that the site could become a crime hotspot, saying cemeteries were often used as hideouts by criminals. In my line of work, about 10 people die daily. If thats the rate, our weekends will be taken up by funeral traffic. Its not sustainable for a residential area.