Street Representatives

Posted 29 May 2021

Are you on a street whatsapp group in the area? We want to hear from you. Nora is looking for one or more representatives from every street group in our neighbourhood to be a liaison to the NORA Committee. This will allow us to better understand specific problems facing our community in each street. If you are interested in participating, please contact Matthew van der Want at matthew.vanderwant@gmail.com or 084 589 6195. 

Oaklands Cell Mast Removed

Posted 22 September 2020

Great news! The cellphone mast at the corner of African Street and Park Street is being removed by Vodacom. This follows a lengthy engagement process between our community, led by Taddy Blecher, and Vodacom. Unfortunately, it was necessary to engage lawyers to represent our concerns, and their fees came to R128,099.70. R45,000 has been covered by donations from the Blechers, Pogirs and Luries, with NORA contributing R10,000, but we need to cover the remaining R73,099.70. Any contribution, big or small, is welcomed. Donations may be made into the NORA account:

Norwood Oaklands Residents Association

FNB - Cheque Account

Branch Code: 254 005 

Account Number: 62623487619

Please use "cellmast" as your reference.   

NORA Feedback on Priority Areas for the IDP

Posted 23 June 2020

The City's IDP (Integrated Development Plan) is currently out for comment. NORA invited residents through its Facebook page and through WhatsApp group to provide feedback on priority service areas. This has been collated and presented to Councillor Fisher And Councillor Huggett. Access the NORA feedback here:

May 2020 Newsletter

Posted 17 May 2020

The May 2020 newsletter, with lots of important info on the closure of the Norwood Pikitup Depot, fencing of the Pretoria Street Park, town planning matters, Shothole Borer, Recycling and more is available here: 

Art Clinic opens at the Orchards Project

Posted 29 February 2020

THE ART CLINIC has been established in the multi-functional arts space, the Tipper building, at the Orchards Project. It will be opening its doors to residents of the area with the aim of developing an annual programme of multi-disciplinary production and learning.

Powered by the Trinity Session (a diverse team of artists, designers and curators) in collaboration with The Orchards Project Board and numerous active members of the neighborhood, THE ART CLINIC will launch its new production space in May, with a variety of events aimed at developing collaboration and a new and accessible programme of creative offerings, all under one roof. 

Read more about this exciting project here:

We need your help on Garden Road!

Posted 30 October 2019

The presence of a liquor store at 265 Louis Botha Avenue has severely degraded the corner of Louis Botha Avenue and Garden Road. NORA has challenged a tavern liquor licence application with the assistance of attorney Leon Slotow, and have assisted residents coordinate efforts with JMPD, SAPS and Pikitup. 

The matter will now be heard by the Gauteng Liquor Board on 7 November, and Leon Slotow will be representing NORA and residents. We need your assistance to cover these legal fees. ANY donation will be appreciated. To donate, please make a deposit into our bank account with the description: Liquor_Surname.

Norwood Oaklands Residents Association

FNB - Cheque Account

Branch Code: 254 005 

Account Number: 62623487619

Garden Road Crisis Update

Posted 07 August 2019

The presence of a liquor store at 265 Louis Botha Avenue has severely degraded the corner of Louis Botha Avenue and Garden Road. NORA challenged a tavern liquor licence application with the assistance of attorney Leon Slotow, and have assisted residents coordinate efforts with JMPD, SAPS and Pikitup. The Sector 3 Crime Forum has also strongly driven this issue, and has made it one of the two priorities for the Forum.

We are thrilled to report that Norwood SAPS has supported our efforts, and has closed the establishment down since it is already operating as a tavern, without a tavern liquor licence.

This is a significant victory, but the battle is not over. We need to continue the process started to deny a liquor licence on this corner, and to continue our partnership with the Sector 3 Crime Forum, JMPD and SAPS to enforce the rule of law in our neighbourhood. 

Oaklands Cellular Masts Update

Posted 28 July 2019

Dr Taddy Blecher has been leading our neighbourhood's engagement with Vodacom on cellular masts. In consultation with the NORA committee he has submitted sites to Vodacom where cellular masts could be erected without endangering our community's health or devaluing property values. These are now being considered by Vodacom's technical team.

He also has some suggestions for residents who are frustrated with poor cellphone strength:

1.

To reduce pressure on the cellular voice and data network, install high speed fibre at home, for fast data, and to use voice over IP solutions.

2.

Individuals wishing to boost signal strength further are advised to consider putting Vodacom boosters in their own houses.

Follow our news updates to keep appraised of developments.

NORA Committee Announces Priorities for 2019

Posted 20 June 2019

The committee of the newly established Norwood Oaklands Residents Association met on 11 June. These are the committee's priorities for this year:

1 - Cellular Masts

A subcommittee has been established to challenge the legality of cellular masts which have recently been erected in Oaklands. NORA fully supports these efforts and committee members Trevor Lunt and Dillon Swartz will be guiding the NORA response. Should you wish to support these efforts financially, please use the following description on your deposit: Address/Cellular. Banking details are as below.

2 - Garden Road Crisis

The presence of a liquor store at 265 Louis Botha Avenue has severely degraded the corner of Louis Botha and Garden. We are challenging the liquor licence application with the assistance of attorney Leon Slotow, and are assisting residents coordinate efforts with JMPD, SAPS and Pikitup. Committee members Brett McDougall and Bradley Janse van Rensburg are leading this effort. Should you wish to support these efforts financially, please use the following description on your deposit: Address/Liquor. Banking details are as below.

3 - Grant Avenue

You will have noticed a cleaner and more beautiful Grant Avenue of late. That is due to the efforts of committee member Brendan Lombard who manages two cleaners and has worked with businesses to place olive trees in pots on pavements. He will be focusing on a security strategy with CAP and the regularisation of car guards this year. Support his efforts by making a donation with the  following description on your deposit: Address/Grant.

4 - We will continue to...

Beautify and maintain Norwood Park and The Gardens Conservancy (committee member Brett McDougall).

Run events that bring feet to Grant Avenue and activate Norwood Park (committee member Nadine Hocter).

Challenge illegal building and object to town planning applications that derogate from our neighbourhood (committee member Brett McDougall).

Escalate service delivery failures within the City.

We need your assistance! Please pay your subs or make a donation!

Norwood Oaklands Residents Association

FNB Cheque Account Number: 62623487619

Branch Code: 254 005

City Releases Properties in Orange Grove and Houghton for Development

Posted 03 April 2019

The City of Johannesburg has released a large number of properties in Orange Grove and Upper Houghton for development. An extract for these properties, the City's intention, and the development rights is available here: https://we.tl/t-Z67sEREtdQ

Oaklands Residents Vote to Join NORA

Posted 31 March 2019

At a well attended meeting held at Old Eds on Wednesday 20 March, Oaklands residents overwhelmingly voted to join the Norwood Orchards Residents Association. NORA has previously indicated three conditions for Oaklands joining the Association. These are:

1 - Oaklands residents will contribute subs.

2 - Oaklands residents will participate on the NORA committee.

3 - Oaklands residents will support the proposal in large numbers.

The intention to include Oaklands in the Norwood Orchards Residents Associaton will now be put to NORA at a Special General Meeting, to be held on 3 June. Should NORA vote to include Oaklands, then a new constitution will be put to the Special General Meeting for the newly combined residents association.

Further details will follow in due course.

NORA Reports Back on a Successful Year

Posted 20 March 2019

At last night's AGM Chairman Brett McDougall gave an update on NORA's activities over the last year. Here is the presentation:

Property Valuations - the Section 52 appeal process

Posted 08 February 2019

The City of Joburg's processes are confusing at the best of times, but the Section 52 Review process for property valuations takes the cake.

Many of us in the neighbourhood will have received inexplicably high property valuations in 2018. The valuation process was a mess, and the City was deluged with appeals. You should now be receiving the results of the appeals process in the mail. 

But, here's the catch... If your appeal was successful, and your property valuation was adjusted downwards, you may now be subjected to ANOTHER review process. 

This is an example of a valuation decision notice:

If the notice that you have received looks like this, and you have a Y in the Section 52 Review block, you MUST appeal the decision in order to avoid the Section 52 Review going ahead without your participation, and potentially resulting in the decrease in your valuation being reversed. If this happens, you will receive a backdated bill from the City in a few years' time that may amount to tens of thousands of Rands!

Here's what you need to do:

1 - Download the Appeal form here:

2 - Print it and complete it.

3 - Take the form with the original evidence used in justifying a lower valuation, and new covering letter providing context, to the Valuation Dept on the 1st Floor, Jorrissen Place, 66 Jorrissen Streeet, Braamfontein.

4 - Make sure you get confirmation that you handed it in and do not miss the deadline (stated on your Notice received from the City).

5 - Keep all your documents and receipts safe - you will need them in a few years time at the Appeal Board.

Somebody in the City is lying about property hijackings in Orange Grove

Posted 01 February 2019

Orange Grove is under siege as property hijackers occupy properties owned by the City of Johannesburg. There are hundreds of illegal electricity and water connections, and rubbish lines the street. So what is the City doing about it? It depends on who you believe... The Chief Executive Officer of the Joburg Property Company (who own and manage City properties) says that NO legal action will be taken. She is contradicted by the City's spokesperson. Who is telling the truth and who is lying? And do any of them care about our neighbourhood and its residents? Read The Star article published today, and then the follow up correspondence with the City's spokesperson to find out.

DA-controlled City of Joburg's incompetence and lies endanger our neighbourhood

Posted 15 January 2019

Our neighbourhood has been the victim of severe flooding since 2015. Homes in Orchards have been made uninhabitable, and erosion along the Orange Grove Spruit in The Gardens has destroyed infrastructure and threatens lives and property too. This has been highlighted to our councillor and the Johannesburg Roads Agency, and escalated up to Mayoral level with no success.

The matter of Hilson Bridge highlights the City's incompetence and lies:

• Dangerous erosion and undermining of The Avenue was highlighted by NORA to the JRA and our Councillor for a period of 2 years from 2015 to 2017.
• In April 2017,  Councillor David Fisher announced that the Hilson Bridge was to receive R7.5m in funding in the 2017/2018 year to restore the Bridge and resolve erosion problems. Here is the article: https://northeasterntribune.co.za/201066/the-historic-hilson-bridge-to-be-restored/
•  Despite the announcement, no progress was made in 2017/2018. NORA followed up numerous times with the JRA and Councillor Fisher to no avail.
•  A water licence was finally sought, but the work was done in the 2018/2019 year.Further correspondence from the JRA promised that the site would be established in November 2018, but this didn't happen.
• NORA continued to follow up, being ignored most of the time, but confirmation was finally received yesterday that there is NO BUDGET.
• The budget allocation has been lost due to delays in appointing contractors to do the work - therefore through incompetence in the DA-controlled City of Johannesburg.
• NORA requested Councillor Fisher then to retract his press release on Hilson Bridge being restored, and the response received from him was that he would not do so as the JDA had asked him to announce this in April 2017.
• Our DA Councillor is happy to take the credit for good news, but is nowhere to be seen when follow up is necessary, and when residents need to be told the truth.

Incidentally, the announcement of no funding was received a day after another devastating flood hit our neighbourhood. These pictures show how storm water drains have disintegrated, and how close the Hilson Bridge and The Avenue are to collapse.

Why should our neighbourhood be voting for the DA in the coming elections when we are treated with such disdain?

JDA Provides an Update on the Paterson Park Recreation Centre

Posted 05 October 2018

The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) provided an update on the redevelopment of the Paterson Park Recreation Centre on Wednesday the 3rd of October. The update was in response to widespread dissatisfaction on how long the redevelopment is taking.

The Paterson Park Recreation Centre used to be the vibrant heart of the community of Orange Grove and Norwood, and hosted community meetings, art and craft classes and various sporting disciplines. In 2014 the City announced that it would be redeveloping the Centre to accommodate the Corridors of Freedom initiative. The upgrade was promised to be complete by the end of 2016. Two years after that date the area is an abandoned construction site.

What went wrong?

The JDA's procurement policies and lax project management are to blame. Rembu, who submitted the cheapest bid to the tender, was appointed to do the construction. This relatively unknown construction firm, with offices in Bloemfontein and Polokwane and with a track record in winning government tenders, was deemed capable of delivering a project exceeding R150m in value. The JDA did not seem to question why more established construction companies had submitted bids at higher value, and appointed Rembu.

Three years later the JDA presentation of work performed to date is littered with defects. In the case of the historic pavilion, the construction firm and architects could not read their own plans and removed and destroyed historic door frames. Very little remains of this heritage building.

Where to from here? 

Another construction firm will now be appointed to complete the work. The JDA estimates this will be completed by the end of next year, but we have lost faith in their ability to estimate anything with accuracy.

The disaster at the Recreation Centre is just one in a series of disasters the JDA has been associated with in our neighbourhood. At the Orchards Clinic, the engineer appointed under-designed the building resulting in it being structurally unsafe. Remedial work has had to be done and the building will now only be complete in early 2019, several years behind schedule. In the meantime, building rubble lines pavements on BOTH sides of Oaklands Road, making it impossible to use by pedestrians.

At Paterson Park North, the historic stone gate posts were damaged by a construction vehicle. The JDA assumed these could be removed even though no heritage impact assessment indicating the intended removal existed.

Work on Louis Botha Avenue by the JDA resulted in huge mounds of sand being pushed to the edge of the Orange Grove Waterfall. Not only did this threaten to destroy the Waterfall, but erosion would have silted up the Orange Grove Stream in Paterson Park where the JDA had spent millions of Rand daylighting the stream. When this was brought to their attention, no response was received, and the matter had to be escalated to obtain acknowledgement from the JDA.

In Norwood the JDA created huge expectations with a Grant Avenue Precinct Plan, and then abandoned the neighbourhood, with no funding in sight.

Perhap our neighbourhood would be better off if the City did not spend any money on projects here!

Norwood honours the spirit of Nelson Mandela

Posted 17 July 2018

On Sunday the 15th of June, the Norwood Orchards Residents Association honoured the spirit of Nelson Mandela by renovating the ablution block in Norwood Park, and giving the Park some TLC. Look at the amazing results!

The High Street Canyon is finally fixed, and there are now lights in Norwood Park!

Posted 12 July 2018

After over 6 months of logging calls, constant follow up, and two letters to the Mayor, the canyon in the pavement at the corner of High and African has been repaired, and Norwood Park lights are now working. See the letter that got the job done...

NORA requests the Mayor's intervention to reinstate pavements on The Avenue and African Street

Posted 3 April 2018

Having exhausted all other channels open to us, we have been forced to request the Mayor's urgent intervention in having pavements on The Avenue and African Street reinstated. Read our letter here...

An Open Letter to Councillor David Fisher

Posted 13 January 2018

The areas that NORA represents – Norwood, Orchards, The Gardens and Cheltondale – fall under two wards, 73 and 74. Councillor Fisher was elected to represent Ward 74 in the 2016 local government elections, and Councillor Huggett was elected in the Ward 73 by-election in early 2017. Dealing with two councillors is not necessarily ideal, but it has brought into relief their relative performance. While new to the job, Councillor Huggett has made every effort to get up to speed on neighbourhood issues, to attend our monthly meetings, and to escalate all matters brought to her attention until they are resolved. We, unfortunately, cannot say the same for Councillor Fisher. While we regret having to expose these matters in an open letter, we have been left no choice as Councillor Fisher and his political head, Mervyn Cirota, have been unresponsive to our concerns.

On his election in 2016, we briefed Councillor Fisher on issues facing our neighbourhood and asked that he tackle these as a matter of urgency. Most important of these is the impact of flooding in Orchards and The Gardens. We had first highlighted serious erosion at the Hilson Bridge on The Avenue in January 2015. In correspondence since then, and which I will gladly make available to anyone interested, we brought the matter to the attention of our Councillors (first Cooper and then Fisher), the JRA and City Heritage (as the Bridge is a heritage structure), and raised it in the City’s IDP sessions. Erosion has worsened after each flood, and the floods of November 2016 and November 2017 not only almost destroyed the Bridge, but made as many as 15 home between Louis Road and Oakland Road in Orchards virtually uninhabitable.

We were heartened when the City agreed to allocate an amount R7.5m to the erosion issue at Hilson Bridge in April 2017, but every month since then has brought just broken promises. And until December 2017, there was no response from the City to the plight of residents whose homes have been ruined in Orchards.

So where has Councillor Fisher been in all of this? I’m sorry to say – Absent. Here are the facts:

• Councillor Fisher does not respond to our mails. When confronted on the matter, he has stated that he focuses on the poorer parts of Ward 74, and that he relies on strong Residents Associations like ours to deal with issues in the more affluent parts.
• Councillor Fisher does not attend our meetings. When confronted on the matter, he stated that our meeting dates were inconvenient for him. We changed the meeting dates to accommodate him, but he still chooses not to attend, or even submit a written report on the key matters.
• Councillor Fisher arranged a “Public Meeting” to discuss flooding in Orchards, giving a mere 4 days’ notice, and arranging it in the middle of a weekday when most residents (who work!) cannot attend, in December 2017. Called out on this, he promised to make available all documentation presented at the meeting, and then arrange another with proper notice in January 2018. Asked to provide information on the meeting in December 2017, he first ignored requests, and then stated that we could read the North Eastern Tribune (which published an article predictably light on information). He has now arranged another “Public Meeting” with a week’s notice, and failed to notify us directly (we had to find out via other channels).
• In addition to this, we believe that the City (under the JDA) are proposing to daylight part of the Orange Grove Spruit as an answer to the flooding issues. This makes no sense whatsoever, as Cheltondale is downstream from the area impacted in Orchards, and will have no bearing on the dire situation at Hilson Bridge.

This is not what we expect of our publicly elected representatives.

We are no longer politely asking Councillor Fisher to represent those that voted him into power, here are our DEMANDS:

• Councillor Fisher will responds to mails, will attend meetings, and follow up on all matters brought to his attention.
• Councillor Fisher will hold the City accountable – particularly the JDA and JRA – in the very serious flooding issues we are facing.
• Councillor Fisher will facilitate sessions between residents and the City in a manner that is respectful of residents – giving proper notice for meetings, distributing relevant documentation to residents before the meeting, and distributing agreed actions and commitments after the meeting.

If these demands are not met, NORA will be encouraging residents of Ward 74 to make their unhappiness known at the next opportunity at the ballot box. We are not voting cattle. We will not vote for representatives and parties that do not treat us with respect and do not serve us.

I look forward to a positive outcome on the matters raised.

Yours sincerely,

Brett McDougall

Chairman

Councillor Fisher responds to our open letter 

Posted 2`1 January 2018

Our response to Councillor Fisher's letter 

Posted 2`1 January 2018

We have attached two sets of communication with Councillor Fisher, who claims to be unfairly accused of neglect of his duties in the NORA suburbs in Ward 74. The first is e-mail correspondence expressing frustration on lack of response on matters brought to his attention, and includes Councillor Fisher's "pro-poor" defense of his position. The second is extracts from WhatsApp conversations in which Councillor Fisher regularly just ignored reasonable requests.

You be the judge... 

NORA Connects Local Suppliers with our Community

Posted 14 November 2017

The Norwood Orchards Residents Association has partnered with Versofy to connect our community to local suppliers. Finding a supplier has never been easier - simply describe the service you're looking for and the price you're prepared to pay, we'll find the suppliers that match those requirements! No more sifting through pages of results to keep track of contact details and quotes! Versofy's quality rating, negotiation and messaging systems will help you choose the best person for the job. Finding a supplier has never been easier!

Excited as we are?

Need to know more?

Want to register as a Supplier?

October News Update

Posted 22 October 2017

The Norwood Orchards Residents Association has been hard at work since Love Norwood Day!

Here is a summary of what we have been busy on:

We have unfortunately had to appeal the Paterson Park Municipal Planning Tribunal decision. 

We have made a number of improvements to Norwood Park. 

We have three exciting events lined up this week: the launch of Short Road Park, Grant Avenue Clean Up, and Halloween on Grant.

Paterson Park Planning Tribunal set for 13 July 2017

Posted 20 June 2017

The long awaited Tribunal for the proposed rezoning applictions to allow for the residential development of Paterson Park has been set out for 13 July.  All the information needed including the 'Power of Substitution Document' can be found on the event link below:

Tribunal Details are as follows:

o   A site inspection commences at 09h30 on 13 July 2017, from 6 Pine Road, Orchards.

o   The Tribunal commences later in the day at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein.

o   All other important details are contained in the notice itself.

Be an informed and involved resident, and have a say in your neighbourhood’s future by attending this meeting!

High Speed Internet Roll-out Update

Posted 10 October 2016

Love Norwood Day - A great success

Posted 11 August 2016