Reclaiming Clairwood: a community’s fight against decay and neglect
Once a vibrant residential suburb, Clairwood, located approximately 10km from Durban’s CBD, has succumbed to an alarming decline driven by the encroachment of trucking companies, informal settlements, and deteriorating infrastructure.
The few remaining residents are now in a fight for survival, desperately trying to reclaim some of what their community has lost over the decades.
Rishi Singh, the honorary life president of the Clairwood Ratepayers and Residents Association (CRRA), has lived in Clairwood for 67 years and recalls the vibrant days of the suburb.
“We had about 50 000 residents. The area was full of activities in terms of education, commerce, culture, sports, politics, and an intertwined community that included all race groups. Clairwood was one of the very few grey areas in KZN where we had all race groups,” he said.
Singh reflected on Clairwood's bustling central business district along the main South Coast Road, where local retail businesses thrived, providing employment opportunities to residents.
“The whole of Clairwood was built up by our forefathers (indentured labourers), who were predominantly Indian. All the civic halls here were built by the residents. All our cemeteries are privately owned until today and run by the people of the area, of different faiths.”
However, Singh said as the area began to face challenges in the 1950s when the apartheid government's proposed industrialisation push clashed with the residents’ wishes, Clairwood's struggles began. The then-city council's decision to "freeze the area” for potential industrial use hindered homeowners from making improvements, leading to many homes falling into decay and eventually condemned.
Colin Thaver, who fondly recalls his childhood spent climbing fruit trees and enjoying movies at Rani Theatre, said the area started getting dilapidated and his family moved to Isipingo Hills and then Phoenix.
Thaver said he still attends the Kavady Festival at the Clairwood Shree Siva Soobramania Temple in Sirdar Road. “I have fond memories of the temple and festivals. A part of me will always live in Clairwood.”
He said he now dreams of the area being developed. “I had the most fun living there as a kid. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Residents’ voices: Personal stories of loss and hope
The residents’ plight deepened with the construction of the Southern Freeway (M4) in the early 1970s, which displaced many households among other developments.
Singh said subsequent government attempts at redevelopment in the early 1980s with the Structure Plan in collaboration with the residents finally began to reverse some damage, promising infrastructure improvements. “Roads were resurfaced, stormwater drains were installed in the area as well as a sewerage system. We had a bucket (pail) system here.”
The construction of simplexes and duplexes was permitted prior to democracy, allowing residents to build units.
However, he stated that the new council post 1994, quickly changed course toward industrial interests, focusing on transforming Clairwood into a logistics hub.
The fight to reclaim Clairwood is ongoing, according to Singh, who noted that 80% of Clairwood businesses are now trucking companies, followed by tyre companies among others.
“Clairwood is now 100% worse off than what it was because as much as they say that the new plan will not affect anyone, it's against the current Constitution which says that everyone has the right to live in a clean and safe environment and you cannot live in a clean and safe environment when they want to change the law to put truckers next to us,” he said.
Government actions and community responses
eThekwini Municipality has called for public meetings over the next few weeks to discuss a proposed amendment to the land use scheme by introducing a new zone that will be known as “Special zone 40: Clairwood logistics park”.
Singh likened the apartheid government’s use of the Slum Clearance Act to the city’s special zone as a means to get rid of the residents.
Currently, Singh said the area is lawless, with truckers disregarding the law and continuing to destroy what’s left of the infrastructure.
“Our roads are not conducive to handle 30-tonne trucks and most of them are 30 tonnes. The area is waterlogged and the roads are sinking which is affecting the drainage system and pipes are getting damaged. The manholes are getting blocked and there are underground leaks,” he said.
He added that the influx of the trucks gave rise to prostitution and crime, which are major challenges for residents.
“We are the only suburb that has lost nine lives because of trucking. (trucks running over people on the road),” said Singh.
Demzey Gulabram, Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson and vice chair of the CRRA, agrees that there is no law in Clairwood despite the fact that there is a metro police station in the area.
Another issue, according to Gulabram, is the illegal scrapyards that are attracting criminals who go around stealing copper pipes and water meters, among other items.
“You’ll find that late at night and early hours of the morning, guys are running around stealing stuff and forming queues. I think the scrapyards are literally open 24 hours because they know that the guys are coming at 2am when the cops are not around,” said Gulabram.
He said in recent times, trucks and tyre companies are conducting business on the roads. “They will take half an hour to change a tyre and if you are behind a truck, you have to just wait or find an alternate route.”
The current state of Clairwood: Challenges faced
With regard to the breach of by-laws, Gulabram said there is a family living in fear that a 50-metre long boundary wall built by a trucking company, less than a metre from their door, might collapse on their iron house and crush them. “There are containers stacked not even two or three metres away from that house.
“If the will of the police and the will of the council was there for Clairwood, we would not be here today talking about all these issues,” he stated.
Ravin Brijlal, CRRA public relations officer and CPF vice chair, said there is a company that operates a harbour crane that is used to lift containers near his house.
“It disturbs my sleep at all hours of the night. The containers are dropped onto the ground, which causes vibrations. The house vibrates and is getting damaged. There are cracks in the walls and this is going on for years,” he said.
Resident Shamshad Osman said the same business has no fencing around the area where it is being used, which sometimes includes the pavement and the road. “It’s at an intersection where people pass by and children are walking home after school.”
Osman, who has lived in Clairwood for more than 30 years, said there is no safety.
“We can’t go out on the roads anymore, kids can’t play around, you can’t walk on the roads because of the trucks, they don’t bother or look to see who is walking on the roads. They don’t follow road rules. There are no stopping at any stop street. There are no signs on the roads because the trucks knock them down,” she said.
She recalled an incident when a truck drove through a brick wall of a primary school where children were playing. “Fortunately, no one got hurt. It’s very dangerous for the kids to even walk on that road.”
There are times when residents cannot even get out of their yards because the trucks block the driveways, she stated.
“With the trucks coming in, the roads are getting damaged as well as the sewage system, drainage, there are potholes, no pavements, no manholes, light poles are damaged. Some trucks drive into light poles and it could take up to two weeks for the power to be restored. The city refuses to come out to fix the poles because they feel that the trucks are going to damage them again,” said Osman.
According to Osman, there is a road that the city has blocked off due to the large pothole that is a safety risk for vehicles, which formed as a result of an unattended underground leak. “That was six months ago and it’s still blocked.
“The roads are getting damaged and we can’t even use them. Our cars are getting damaged because when it rains, we don’t know where the potholes are,” she said.
A call for change: Residents demand action
Mervyn Reddy, current president of the CRRA, said with all the trucks in the area, there has been an increase in asthma cases because of the emissions.
“NGOs have conducted studies and air samples were taken. Studies have also been conducted on certain properties in the area, testing the ground of the trucking companies and found to be disastrous if any explosion happens,” he said.
Reddy further explained that there are some trucks with tankers that transfer diesel and fuel.
“We have had explosions with the truckers and the tankers and lives have been lost… Even in people’s homes, there is silt on the curtains and in the yard among other areas,” said Reddy.
He said along with the decreasing quality of life, the residents’ rights are being violated.
“The area has become totally lawless. It’s every person for themselves. The truckers and the truck owners don’t respect that there are people living here, who have been here way before they arrived. There has got to be a degree of respect as well,” he said.
Reddy emphasised that residents have also been victims of intimidation and have been beaten by truckers.
He described the congestion caused by the trucks as frustrating. “You take a drive anywhere and you will become so frustrated that you don’t know what to do on the road. Some roads become a no-go area and residents have to find other roads.”
Singh said sometimes there may be one more turn to get to your house, but due to the congestion, you may have to take three other roads just to get home.
Reddy said the thinning of the formal residents is not by choice but by design as people cannot live in these conditions.
The residents noted that there are only about 1 000 formal residents left in the area while six informal settlements have mushroomed, housing approximately 5 000 informal residents.
“People cannot live in such upheaval like this, in an area that has no quality of life, no future for their children, even for them to expand into their own homes, there’s uncertainty in the area.
“We have seen that the municipality all these years have taken a step back. We see it as a ploy, a tactic, a hidden agenda not to come in here,” said Reddy.
Looking ahead: The future of Clairwood
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the city works closely with ward councillors and local businesses to minimise damage to infrastructure.
“A significant contributor to the issue is the high volume of trucks in the Clairwood precinct, along with informal settlements that lack proper sanitation and refuse removal. This leads to blockages in both the sewer and stormwater networks, with some instances of illegal connections to the stormwater system,” she said.
Sisilana said the city is working towards finding sustainable solutions.
“Last week, the city’s Roads and Stormwater team repaired potholes on Horsham and Sirdar roads,” she added.
As the rain poured on Wednesday, driving through Clairwood, a resident, who requested to remain anonymous, was seen clearing the stormwater drain outside his house.
The 58-year-old, who was born and raised in Clairwood, explained that every time it rained heavily, he feared that his family home would flood.
“I had to physically unblock the drain. It has flooded here many times and caused major damages to property, belongings and vehicles. You can see the drain is blocked across the road and all the dirt is coming into the drain,” he said.
In addition, he said there were several illegal connections to the light pole by his house which caused the wires to burn out.
Several trucks were observed attempting to pass one another on the roads, while cars were seen manoeuvring around potholes. Additionally, there were piles of dirt dumped along the sides of multiple roads, some of which were waterlogged.
karen.singh@inl.co.za