Develop Your Property

Caring for old houses

Continuing with our features on caring for old houses, this month we are taking excerpts from the South African heritage Resources Authority (SAHRA) leaflet which gives some handy tips on caring for our old homes, to look specifically at security.  It is a fact of life that city living does require us to have protection for our homes and to remain vigilant when we’re out and about.

Security

Security is always a problem in South Africa.  Where possible make use of electronic alarm systems and floodlights – they are generally the least intrusive.  Should you need to put bars on your windows, it is usually preferable to line up the burglar bars with the glazing bars, or divide the spacing equally.  Always respect the traditional vertical proportions of the windows.  On public facades, it is generally preferable to place the bars internally.  Bars should be painted in such a way as they disappear as far as possible.

Discreetly placed electric fence cables are often a better alternative to razor wire or high walls.

It has often been demonstrated that high walls are not necessarily a deterrent to burglars. Once over the wall, the burglar is out of sight and may proceed without fear.  It is also aesthetically preferable to allow visual accessibility from the street to the house.  This may be done by the use of wooden picket or metal paling fences.  Where possible keep front walls to the traditional low height. Rather than altering original garden walls with cast-iron work, consider constructing a second visually permeable inner fence, and plant sympathetically between the two. A climbing rose or a prickly hedge often makes an aesthetic alternative to a wall or razor wire fence.

Where original wire gates or old-fashioned wire fences remain, try to retain these as they are part of our heritage that is disappearing rapidly.

Next newsletter we will feature restoration, repairs and alterations.  If you want the information on the care of old houses more quickly, the SAHRA leaflet is available from the Association on 482 3349.

Security in our suburb

Continuing with the theme of security, residents may have read in the local press that there are a number of neighbouring suburbs which have developed their own security schemes and who are now enjoying dramatically reduced levels of crime.  Anecdotal comments from a few estate agents have been that houses in these areas have been much easier to sell since the schemes have been introduced. It is not only is the issue of personal safety motivating the residents to put additional neighbourhood security in place, it is also to keep their most valuable asset appreciating.  Selling property in areas that suffer from crime is much more difficult.

With the Council’s more stringent requirements for closing off areas, new security measures are being taken. Neighbouring suburbs’ schemes range from a few residents clubbing together to employ a security guard dedicated to their property or street, to a full suburb security scheme with their own control room, patrol car and bicycle patrols as seen in Forest Town.

In Parktown there are a number of home owners and many business owners with their own guards.  Several streets have come together to have foot patrols.  The suburb isn’t well situated to undertake a complete security village concept as in Forest Town as we are dissected by many arterial routes, which makes it difficult to pull the whole community together.  However residents in the Parktown west area, in the adjoining streets to the area currently patrolled would like to join, please contact Trevor Buckland on 726-5421 after hours.

According to experts in the security industry, the key to keeping the streets in our suburb safe is intelligence.  The more we know who is walking and driving in our suburb the easier it is maintain security.  And the crime makers get to know where there is vigilance and tend to stay away. Supporting the Domestic Workers’ Watch forum is a good way of gathering and disseminating the neighbourhood intelligence.

All that said, according to the Parkview Police station, Parktown enjoys low levels of crime and our house prices seem to be doing well.