March has been another active month for the CRA.
From environmental work along the Braamfontein Spruit to important town-planning matters affecting the future of our suburbs, we continue to focus on protecting the character, safety and long-term sustainability of our community.
Strong neighbourhoods do not happen by accident. They depend on residents who participate, raise concerns and support the work being done behind the scenes.
And if you haven’t seen the Cosmos in full bloom at Delta Park yet, make a plan to get there, it’s a beautiful sight at the moment.
Spruit Cleanup
Earlier this month, the Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners Association (PRABOA) arranged a cleanup along the Braamfontein Spruit in 5th Avenue Park.
The Spruit is one of the most important ecological and recreational corridors in our area. It is used daily by walkers, runners and cyclists, and it links several neighbouring suburbs through a shared greenbelt.
The cleanup focused on removing litter and debris, clearing dumping hotspots, and improving the overall condition of the river corridor.
Going forward, the CRA will be partnering with PRABOA on cleanups like this in areas that join our suburbs. This is a good example of what can be achieved when neighbouring community organisations work together to protect shared public spaces.
Michael Elliott, Committee Member of the CRA, assisting with the Spruit Cleanup at 5th Avenue Park.
Blue Bridge Rehabilitation
Residents may have noticed recent work around the Blue Bridge crossing on the Spruit.
During earlier bridge repair works, a number of the gum poles forming the fence across the Spruit crossing were damaged or removed by contractors and were never reinstated. Some of the remaining poles had also rotted over time.
The CRA has now replaced a number of these poles to restore the barrier and improve the safety and appearance of the area.
We are also continuing to engage the City regarding responsibility for the damage caused during the bridge works.
At the same time, the CRA has pushed for the surrounding area to be properly rehabilitated. Pleasingly, residents may have noticed that City teams were recently on site loosening the compacted soil and sowing grass seed in the disturbed areas.
That is a positive step, and we will continue to monitor the site to ensure the rehabilitation is properly carried through.
Dunkeld Tower Hearing Postponed
Many residents will be aware of the proposed Erf 203 Dunkeld West development, often referred to as the “Dunkeld Tower” application. The Municipal Planning Tribunal hearing scheduled for this application has now been postponed to 23 March 2026, after it became clear that there were serious procedural flaws in the public participation process. The application was advertised across three separate notification windows, yet the City recorded only 11 objectors. In reality, the number of objections submitted was closer to 60. This appears to have resulted from administrative failures between the City of Johannesburg and the applicant’s town planner, with a lage number of valid objections not properly reflected in the official record.
The result is that the hearing could not proceed fairly.
This matters.
Town planning is one of the most important functions affecting the long-term character and liveability of our suburbs. If developments are allowed to proceed without proper scrutiny, the consequences can include over-densification, increased strain on infrastructure, deterioration in quality of life, and downward pressure on property values. The CRA remains firmly engaged in these processes because getting town planning wrong has long-term consequences for everyone.
In this case, the postponement meant that there was an opportunity for a more accurate and fair hearing process, with objections properly recorded and considered. That is an important outcome for residents.
Water, Governance and Voting
Johannesburg’s water crisis continues to affect residents across the city. Supply interruptions, pressure failures and recurring infrastructure problems are no longer isolated events. They are increasingly part of daily life, and they reflect deeper failures in governance, maintenance and long-term planning.
The CRA will continue to escalate local issues where we can, but the reality is that lasting change depends on better leadership and better accountability.
Residents need to think seriously about this when it comes time to vote.
If you do not vote, you give up one of the few direct ways you have to influence the future of the city.
And if you do not vote, then frankly, you should think carefully before complaining about the outcome.
Vote for change. Vote thoughtfully. But vote.
The massive leak at corner Jan Smuts and Rothesay Avenue, which has been an issue since December 2025. This continues to get worse daily while we wait for Johannesburg Water to appoint an external contractor to execute the repair project.
Bubele Africa: Community Work That Makes a Visible Difference
Residents will often see teams in bright orange and blue overalls working along the Braamfontein Spruit, in Delta Park and along pavements throughout our suburbs. These teams are part of Bubele Africa, an organisation that has become an important partner in helping care for our public spaces.
Bubele Africa began during the COVID-19 period in response to two very visible problems: rising unemployment and the deterioration of rivers, parks and public spaces. What started as a practical idea, creating work through environmental cleanup, has grown into a meaningful social and environmental initiative. Its model is simple but effective: create dignified work opportunities for people who need them, while improving urban spaces that would otherwise be neglected.
In our area, Bubele Africa teams work regularly along the Braamfontein Spruit corridor, in Delta Park, and in surrounding public spaces.
Their work includes litter removal, clearing stormwater drains, managing invasive vegetation, cleaning pavements and verges, and supporting the ongoing upkeep of public areas used by residents every day.
This is exactly the kind of work many people assume the municipality is doing. In reality, much of it happens because the CRA and its partners make it happen.
Clean parks do not happen by accident. Cleaner pavements do not happen by accident. A better-maintained Spruit does not happen by accident. It takes coordination, funding, persistence and the right partnerships.
And that is also why CRA membership matters.
When residents support the CRA, we are able to leverage community resources far more effectively than any one person could on their own. We coordinate, we advocate, we push, and we partner. That is how 1 + 1 = 3.
The truth is simple: in many of the areas residents care about most, the community is getting far more done than the City.
If you value living in a suburb that is cleaner, better maintained, better defended and more proactively managed, then supporting the CRA through membership is one of the most practical ways to help make that happen.
Evidence Vundla and Mduduzi Mgwenya, from Bubele Africa
Aniey Benson and Abdul Kangaru from Bubele Africa
Support the CRA
The CRA exists because residents choose to support it. That support allows us to protect the character of our suburbs, engage on planning issues, push for better municipal outcomes, and drive practical interventions that improve daily life in Craighall, Craighall Park and Dunkeld West.
A strong residents’ association makes a real difference. If you are not yet a member, now is the time to join.