Hammarsdale upgrade to begin soon
An artist's impression of the new 'hi-tech' shelters for informal traders in Hammarsdale shows neat, aesthetically pleasing containers under custom-made roofing. The shelters will have their own solar panels and tanks to store water captured from the roofs. An artist's impression of the new 'hi-tech' shelters for informal traders in Hammarsdale shows neat, aesthetically pleasing containers under custom-made roofing. The shelters will have their own solar panels and tanks to store water captured from the roofs.
Work will soon start on a three-year project to give the jaded commercial centre of Hammarsdale a much-needed facelift and improve facilities, especially for the area’s informal traders.
The project is part of a broader plan to bring greater commercial life to Hammarsdale and nearby Mpumalanga – where a R200-million shopping mall is about to be built – and in doing so to provide “neighbourhood” shopping for these heavily-populated areas.
The Hammarsdale and Mpumalanga commercial centres have long been underdeveloped, and residents have been forced to travel to Durban, Pinetown or Pietermaritzburg to do their household shopping.
This situation is now set to change through a “town centre regeneration plan” drawn up by the Economic Development Unit of the eThekwini municipality.
The unit’s Senior Project Manager, Peter Gilmore, said the plan was about to be implemented in Hammarsdale and would start with a major upgrading of the informal trading shelters along Kelly Road.
Gilmore said newly-convert-ed containers would be placed under a roofed area.
“The shelters will be solar powered to provide some light during the winter months, when traders operate in early morning and late afternoon.”
He said each container would have a tank to capture rain water from the roof, as well as a seating area and a garden box in which vegetables could be planted.
The containers would have some garden furniture and be surrounded by landscaped areas, linked by improved, paved pedestrian walkways.
Gilmore said the second phase of the upgrade would start next year with a revamp of the Hammarsdale taxi rank and the provision of additional facilities for traders, including some secure storage space.
He said further improvements would be made in 2013 and 2014, when the main road into Hammarsdale would be widened to four lanes and additional service roads would be built to give access to more industrial land opened for development.
“This initiative has been presented to both formal and informal businesses and community stakeholders, who have welcomed this long overdue intervention of public investment to improve the aesthetics of the area.
“The initiative has already sparked interest among land-owners to consider development options for their vacant properties.”
Gilmore said 120 hectares had already been identified for the “New Town Centre Development” in Mpumalanga.
“This land falls under the ownership of the Ingonyama Trust Board and will be jointly developed by the eThekwini municipality in partnership with Eris Property Group.
“The retail shopping centre is to be provisionally known as the Mpumalanga Mall, and will comprise a mix of both national and local retailers.
“It will substantially increase the much-needed retail offering for the Mpumalanga and Hammarsdale communities,” Gilmore said.