Kenwyn residents are looking for answers after rubble started piling up on Chukker Road sports field.
The mounds, some about 2m high, started appearing in November and now cover about two thirds of the field. There is also a stockpile of about 70 plastic pipes on one side of the field.
Resident Reginald Engelbreght says the facility management committee told him the rubble would be used to make baseball mounds.
“This does not make sense as the dumped material is contaminated with builders’ rubble, used kerb stones, unusable clayed material, rusted steel and dumprock,” he said.
Mr Engelbreght, a civil engineer, says the material is an eyesore, a hazard for spectators and could hamper stormwater drainage.
John Petersen stays opposite the field and says his daughter no longer walks the dog in the area.
“There may be no telling who is hiding behind that stockpiles,” he said.
The field was not safe for children to play on because of sharp rocks in the rubble, he said.
According to ward councillor Mark Kleinschmidt, the facility management committee has a lease with the City but operates independently.
Mr Engelbreght said he had arranged to meet with the committee in December but nobody had showed up and he hadn’t heard anything further.
He said sports clubs had to get consent from nearby homeowners to hold tournaments so it was odd that the facility management committee had not seen fit to consult the public about the rubble.
The sports field is home to baseball, cricket, football and rugby.
Violets Rugby Club chairman Nadier Isaacs said they were in the dark about what the facility management committee planned to do with the rubble.
“If we know their plans for the sports field can be a benefit, then it will be fine, though if their plans are detrimental to the field, we will not be happy,” he said.
However, Kevin Johnson, chairman of VOB Macaws baseball club, said they found valuable uses for the rubble, including using some of the clay and gravel to maintain the surface of the baseball diamond and build up the pitcher’s mound.
Mr Kleinschmidt said the facility management committee was using the materials to build an irrigation system that doesn’t rely on potable water.
“There is also a large number of orange pipes that are on the sports field which accompanied the materials used for the intended purpose,” he said.
Approached for comment, the facility management committee referred questions to the City’s sport and recreation department.
The Tatler has tried repeatedly since Friday February 14 to get answers from the City about what is going on at Chukker Road sports field, but, to date, City spokesman Luthando Tyhalibongo, has said only that the matter is still under investigation.