Sunninghill Community – your ratepayers association

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO FOR YOU

The Sunninghill Community is a registered Section 21 (non profit) company initiated by the residents and businesses of the suburb of Sunninghill – concerned about the rapidly declining urban environment and increased criminal activities in the area.  The perception of crime, grime and general environmental disorder in most urban areas has a negative impact on residents, staff, employers and the willingness of people to visit the area and thus sustain economic growth and development.  

The current operations of Sunninghill Community have been funded by membership subscriptions from concerned residents and businesses. The funding has enabled the organization to perform ratepayer functions such as arranging for potholes, road markings, water leaks, robots, street lights to be repaired, upgraded and/or installed.   Object to illegal construction/building, report by law violations, remove illegal signage etc.  Sunninghill Community employ two permanent gardeners and a number of casual staff on a continual basis to assist in maintaining our verges, parks and pavements. In addition Traffic Wardens are employed to help during peak hour traffic congestion. 

On the safety and security side Sunninghill Community has a network of dedicated pro-active patrol vehicles that pro-actively patrol, observing vehicles and pedestrians. These vehicles and the manpower in them provide much needed backup and support to the under resourced SAPS and Metro Police when security operations are performed in the area.   In addition live CCTV cameras are being installed in the suburb and are being monitored live from the Sunninghill Community Control room.  These camera’s have provided and continue to provide vital information and evidence to our local Police Sector Manager on suspected crime activities and crimes committed.     

The objectives of Sunninghill Community, working closely with the City of Johannesburg and local organizations are to: 

• Address and improve current safety, health and environmental issues;
• Achieve and sustain a well-managed, safe and clean public space;
• Add value to the suburbs’ facilities, look and feel – via creative community initiatives;
• Create a shared community amongst the residents, institutions and business sectors;
• Create and promote strong collaborative relationships between the Sunninghill Community and City utility organizations and agencies.

 Our local authorities have the responsibility to provide basic services such as security, electricity, water and sewerage, as well as road maintenance, traffic lights and garbage collection.  More and more we are finding our local authorities have neither the budget nor the staff to address these issues adequately.  Without proper attention to these matters, a once sought-after residential suburb and business node can become a less desirable place in which to live and work; property values can decrease; unwanted developments can proliferate and ordinary day-to-day life can become chaotic for those who live and work in the area.  One of the solutions to either uplift the area where decay has set in, or to prevent the downward spiral before it has started, is for the local ratepayer association – Sunninghill Community with the contributions and support of its members to become involved and assist with management of the suburb.

Our aim is to achieve a well-run community – one that can proudly say it has desirable addresses and is a safe, secure, friendly and co-operative environment in which to live and work.