A home in Constantia will soon be the new Saxonwold – that’s if the Guptas eventually get their way.

Acquiring 10 Dawn Avenue from Mark Thatcher (yes, Margaret Thatcher’s son), the Guptas’ most recent plans to renovate the house are already receiving backlash from local ratepayers, reports the Sunday Times:

[T]he Constantia Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association circular about the proposed Constantia upgrades said:

“Given the scale of proposals and the purported usage, we are concerned that this property will be used for purposes other than residential.”

It said the flat roof was also a deck, reached by external stairs.

Check the house out on Google Earth here.

The objections come after planned upgrades for the house were submitted to the council and included:

• A double-storey, three-bedroom second dwelling that will increase the property’s total floor area to 1,955m² – 437m² more than permitted;
• A large gatehouse/generator room with bulletproof glass;
• Enlarged staff quarters in the main building to accommodate a property manager, chef and three staff;
• A new veranda juice bar and antechamber;
• Removal of the thatch in favour of a flat roof; and
• A better lapa and gym.

The street view of the house, captured by the Sunday Times:

Through the documents, it was also revealed that the Guptas bought Thatcher’s property for R17 million in 2005 (a year after Thatcher was arrested), through the same company which bought Saxonwold, Islandsite Investments One Hundred and Eighty.

But then:

The property’s R15-million Nedbank bond was cancelled in September, not long before major banks said they were severing ties with the Guptas. According to online property records, Islandsite also owns property in the Cape Town city bowl, with a bond registered with the State Bank of India.

Last year it applied for permission to renovate, submitting a detailed motivation and plans which provoked a similarly detailed objection from the residents’ association. A neighbour also objected to the upgrade, saying it was not in keeping with the area’s park-like ambience.

And the city council approved the plans.

Just let that sink in.

The residents’ association claims “it could not make representations because the matter did not appear on the tribunal agenda”, which means it is likely to challenge the tribunal’s decision.

Residents, of course, are furious, venting on the association’s Facebook page:

One local voiced concern about his high-profile neighbours in a letter to the residents’ association: “They are never there, their verge is a complete mess, overgrown with alien vegetation, they lock their gate with a big chain, and when they do come, they arrive in a long stream of black Mercedes.”

News of the council’s approval was posted on the residents’ association Facebook page, prompting disparaging comments. Rose Murdock said: “They [the Guptas] have been involved in state capture for years so city/municipality capture is child’s play for them.”

At least one commentator on social media suggested the Gupta presence was not good news for the local property market: “That should get property prices plummeting,” she said.

One would think that if the banks refused the Gupta’s business, so too would the City of Cape Town. Alas, we’re in just as much shit as the rest of the country.

[source:sundaytimes]