Ministry ripping up encroachment on new Mandela-Eccles four lane
The Ministry of Housing and Water, through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is removing illegal encroachments on the new Mandela-Eccles four lane highway.
In a statement yesterday, it said that recently, the CH&PA issued a formal Notice of Contravention to a business, sending a clear warning to others operating outside the law.
The notice was served to the business owners, who, either personally or through agents, were found to have illegally occupied the road reserves and drainage reserves by concreting areas adjacent to the western lane of the Mandela-Eccles four-lane highway, in violation of the Town and Country Planning Act, Chapter 20:01. The agency says it has begun the process of dismantling the unauthorized, unlawful and illegal structure.
The Notice requires owners to “immediately remove all encumbrances,” including poured concrete, construction materials, machinery, and equipment, from the road and drainage reserves, the statement said.
Furthermore, the Notice stipulates that all “construction and operational activities” must occur “within the bounds of the said property” and should not “pose or create any hindrance to the free flow of traffic along the Mandela–Eccles four-lane highway.”
The business in question received its approval for a business plan from the CH&PA in December 2023. However, according to the approved report, access is from an internal access road west of the site and not from the highway.
The Ministry of Housing and Water is making it clear that illegal encroachments on public reserves and infrastructure will not be tolerated, and legal action will be taken to ensure compliance, the statement added.
