Northam Carwash: Storm in a teacup?

NORTHAM – An unknown businessman who was granted permission to rent space from the Municipality to put up a car wash next to the old FNB building has encountered opposition from locals, calling it something that looks like the dog’s backside. According to some residents proper bricks were not used and the walls are crooked. These walls, it appeared, were ablution blocks for which no building plans were handed in. As part of the car wash is on a road reserve, permission was granted for temporary structures only, such as a shade net and gravel on the ground to prevent a muddy mess from forming when cars are washed. The car wash owner was also granted permission to apply for a water connection. According to the Municipality the question of the road reserve, and how wide it is, is one that can only be solved by a surveyor. It is a provincial road and also part of a dead end; all of these factors can determine the size of the road reserve. It also seems there is uncertainty about which authority has guardianship over this piece of land and thus which authority should be applied to for permission to put up a business on the road reserve. The Municipality is of the opinion that, rather than putting up a car wash anywhere where people would have no ablution facilities and there is no control over water usage etc support informal business where some measure of control can be exercised. It seems however that heed was paid to complaints from the public. According to Thabazimbi’s municipal manager, Mr R Nkhumise, the erection of a permanent structure was not part of the deal and would probably have to be removed. He said that alternative space would have to be found for the car wash. Residents of Northam are up in arms about what has been happening “on the pavement”. According to them the town already looks terrible with all the street hawkers and haphazard stalls and buildings going up. “It looks like a shanty town”. They also complain that it has been looking much worse lately than a couple of years ago when the town still looked respectable.