Oude Westhof

The Trustees had, after quotations were submitted and reviewed in the month of September, appointed a contractor to carry out the final phase of the back fence security project being the electric fence trigger light installation.

The installation included the laying of underground electrical cables, as well as the actual floodlight installation. The installation began at the start of November and took approximately 4 weeks to complete. There are 19 poles along the fence line (installed in previous financial year), and a total of 38 lights were installed in total.

The lights are connected to and triggered by our current electrical fence. The lights are on a timer, so once activated, they remain on for a certain time period and then turn off.

When the fence and lights are triggered, this will in turn alert our 24 hour monitoring team at the Welgemoed Safe Station, who will alert ADT if necessary to come out and assess the triggered area.

The OW Trustees have completed a final assessment and testing of the new light installation, and confirmed that the system is running smoothly, with the project installation a success.

This is another step forward in ensuring the safety of our residents and area.

The OWHOA employs two full time gardeners, Maseti and Ntisikilelo, who are provided by Eden Landscaping and work on a 5 days a week basis within our area.

The two gentleman work within the OW Area itself, as well as within the OW/VRH Greenbelt and take their instructions from the OW Trustees.

Some of their specific daily duties include the following:

• Pick up trash on a continuous basis
• Pruning and straightening of trees
• Upkeep of all OW gardens and beddings
• Cutting grass alongside all paths when it gets too long in the times between cutting by City Parks
• Responsible for automatic irrigation systems and watering the trees.
• Spray for weeds on the pathed paths and walkways
• Create new flower beds when the need arises
• Upkeep of traffic circle garden
• From time to time, cut a 2 m broad strip from the street to all vacant stands when grass gets too long on vacant stands
• From time to time, walk through all the streets of OWH and remove weeds and accumulation of leaves, in the areas where the street surface meets the curb
• Empty overflowing trash cans in the greenbelts but especially at Pontac/VRH/Gamay intersection (bus stop area)
• Cut away branches (within their reach) in front of CCTV cameras

The OW Estate and greenbelts are well kept and they make a huge difference to the standard of living and condition of our public open spaces. A special gift of thanks in the form of a bonus voucher, will be presented to each of the gardeners at the start of the Christmas holidays for their hard work the past year.

The Environmental Trustees have been very busy the last few months, working within and upgrading our three local parks – Riesling Park, Cabernet Park & Shiraz Park.

A total of 13 dead trees were removed across the three parks and replaced with new Waterpear trees which were planted by the OWMHOA. The trees were donated by the City, however we had to arrange the digging, planting and feeding of the trees at our own cost.

Two new benches as well as two new refuse bins were installed in Riesling Park, as well as a new bench and landing installed in Cabernet Park.

The HOA irrigation waterline that feeds Cabernet Park as well as the Pontac Circle was re-installed, due to the previous system been old and perished with water leaks.

Future projects include the upgrading of the footpaths by fixing the paving where necessary, as well as installing solar lighting along the Cabernet Park footpaths.

We ask our residents to please assist in taking care of our parks, by ensuring you pick up after yourselves or your animals, using the rubbish bins and benches provided appropriately, and by not moving strategically placed plants, rocks and poles.

In our last newsletter, we confirmed that the lack of the forest rangers in the Majik Forest was due to contracts coming to an end, and not been renewed timeously.

You would have now noticed, that security has been placed at the forest gates, which has been done by The City, however there are still no actual rangers present. This is due to the new contract been negotiated and finalized, and we hope to have the rangers back within December.

During the month of October, a row of new trees were planted by the Valley NPC.

These have been planted along the grass strip, just past Selborne Close before Pontac Street. They are really looking lush and green and we cannot wait to see them grow grow grow!

The Van Riebeeckshof Wetlands Nature Conservation Association, which is a registered NPO and in existence since 2008, had a meeting on 19 October 2021, with all the relevant HOA chairperson’s in attendance, save for Kanonberg who indicated that they will not be involved.

After the meeting and further discussion, the new Vleiland Conservation Association has decided on way forward for the protection of the sensitive area in our Valley which feeds the Majik Forest with water and is host to various protected indigenous plants and flower species. Cape Nature also attended the first meeting and has endorsed the efforts of the citizens to protect the Vleiland from firstly, settlement by vagrants but secondly, conserving the natural habitat and cleaning it from pollutants as well as invasive plant species.

The new management committee will comprise members of all the surrounding and participating HOA’s and who will also be funding the Association and sit on the management committee. The Vleiland is crucial to the natural environment and identity of our area and it is essential that residents protect this natural jewel in our midst.

Future projects planned by the new committee include:

• Improving and upgrading the electrified fence
• Weeding and removal of invasive plants like the reeds and port Jackson as well as poplar trees
• Cleanup of plastics and pollutants after every storm season

With the festive season having arrived we would like to remind all of our residents to be safe and vigilant these holidays.

If you are going away, remember to check if your home alarm system is up to date and in full working condition. Please also ensure you alert ADT or your local security company to your time away from home, and your home and property are securely locked.

We encourage you to keep the below contact numbers on hand should the need arise for you to quickly and easily use them with in the OW Area:

OW EMERGENCY

DIRECT VOICE CALL TO CONTROL ROOM = 086 1212 608
ARMED RESPONSE VEHICLE = 078 802 2250

Remember to use our website (https://oudewesthof.co.za/) for the most current information regarding building regulations, security, regular rules and regulations of the Home Owners Association and the constitution. The website is linked to our Facebook page. Please also visit and like our Facebook page.