City invests R50 million in sport and recreational facilities
10-10-2014
The City of Johannesburg has set aside more than R41,8 million to redevelop sports facilities and other public amenities along the Corridors of Freedom in pursuit of its goal to enhance the quality of life of its residents in the current financial year.
The investment is over and above the more than R8 million it spent on similar projects along the Corridors of Freedom in the 2013-2014 financial year – bringing the total amount allocated to this purpose over the two financial years to around R50 million.
The Corridors of Freedom are well-planned transport arteries linked to mixed-used development nodes with residential areas that are supported by office buildings, retail developments and opportunities for education, leisure and recreation.
This new spatial development vision, which is aligned to the City’s Growth and Development Strategy 2040 (GDS 2040), will enable residents of Johannesburg to live closer to their places of work. This means they will live, work and play in the same space, thereby able to walk, cycle or catch a Rea Vaya bus to work and back.
Sports and recreational facilities will play a key role in the shaping of this new spatial development. In the past financial year, 32 facilities were initially identified for possible refurbishment by the Department of Community Development under Member of the Mayoral Committee Cllr Chris Vondo.
“Eight were approved by the Department of Development Planning, which is the custodian of the Corridors of Freedom. The eight were prioritised on the basis that they would foster social inclusion and promote social cohesion,” says Cllr Vondo.
The Alexandra Stadium received the lion’s share of the funding after R4 million was disbursed to fix the facility and bring it up to standard with similar ones in the City.
The Noordgesig Swimming Pool received the second-largest amount – R997 500 – for its upgrade. The Yeoville Recreational Centre was allocated R655 000, Yeoville Swimming Pool R594 000, Newclare Swimming Pool R529 000, Noordgesig Library R502 000, Alexandra 3rd Avenue Library R500 000 and Blue Hall in Newclare R470 920.
The 2014-2015 financial year expenditure – which represents a 500% increase over the previous financial year’s spend – will see the revamping of the Patterson Park and Sports Complex in Orange Grove, along the Johannesburg CBD-Alexandra Corridor, at a cost of R20 million.
About R10 million will be injected into the refurbishment of Union Sports Complex in Newclare, while R6 million will be ploughed into the revamp of the Bosmont Sports Complex.
The Brixton and Bosmont libraries will be refurbished at a cost of R2 million and R1 million respectively.
Another R1.8 million will be spent on Coronationville Swimming Pool and Library upgrades.
The City has taken steps to safeguard the investments from vandalism. Where necessary, security measures such as fencing, lighting, burglar bars, security doors and CCTV cameras have been provided
“But most importantly, community engagement continues to ensure community ownership,” says Cllr Vondlo says.
To gauge the usage of the redeveloped properties, the Department of Community Development is in constant contact with sports councils, federations and associations in the respective areas. Furthermore, access has been prioritised by the Community Development Department to ensure maximum utilisation of the facilities.
In his 2014 State of the City address, Executive Mayor Mpho Parks Tau said: “Through the Corridors of Freedom, we have initiated bold steps towards a comprehensive transformation of our spatial destiny, and a break from our apartheid past of spatial, social and racial segregation; a past premised on prejudice and division.”
“This is a City at work to reverse a legacy of social engineering based on exclusion and apartheid; to create a spatially integrated City and undo the process of urban sprawl, through the provision of high-density housing along well-planned transport corridors. This is a City at work creating a safe environment through pro-active initiatives to address crime, grime and lawlessness.”