STAFF WRITER
HWANGE Local Board (HLB) has covered considerable ground in identifying illegal infrastructural developments in its area of jurisdiction, an official has said.
HLB town planner Themba Sibanda said the local authority has managed to clear most pending infrastructural development bottlenecks.
“We have cleared a backlog on most development control issues. These include mostly illegal developments serve only for those that are a bit complex and need Council resolutions such as change of use without Council’s consent. However, these have been brought to the attention of the engineering and housing directors for presentation to Council,” he said.
In October, the local authority embarked on an exercise to identifying illegal structures and developments in residential, commercial and industrial areas with a view of improving standards of facilities constructed within its locality.
The local authority has done land use compliance in some residential areas and shopping centres in Empumalanga suburb.
“We have partly done land use compliance verifications at Empumalanga 1 and 3 as well as at the suburb’s shopping centres. However, a lot is not well as some shops have double frontages while some operate from storerooms without change of use consent by the planning authority,” said Sibanda.
He however, said the local authority has made significant strides towards enhancing its infrastructural development compliance standards.
“We appeal to our clients to comply with development conditions or face stiff penalties,” he said.
HLB is also in the process of gathering planning data in an effort to come up clear with a land bank for future development and preparation of a master plan.
“The updating of property register is on-going for the purpose of having accurate information for all the properties within our area of jurisdiction,” said Sibanda. Source- Hwange Newsletter.
