Home / City of Johannesburg / Temporary closure of Metro Link

Temporary closure of Metro Link

Posted on December 4 2020 by Gert Minnaar in City of Johannesburg

The information below is in response to the various issues that have been raised by members of the industry and public, following the closure of the Metrolink last week and the electronic / email submission of building plans.

The Department understands the inconvenience that has been caused by the temporary closure of Metrolink. We urge members of the public to note that the temporary closure is due to the need to comply with OHASA safety regulations and request that they be patient with us. We further acknowledge the lack of foresight at not preparing a temporary location for submission of plans while the Metrolink is being prepared for renovations, in addition to the electronic / email submission.

In light of the above, the following measures that are been put in place by the Department, to ensure continued service delivery upon the submission of building plans:

  • The closure of Metrolink was unfortunately imminent. We are working on alternative submission points for building plans. We will, in due course, update members of the public on the location/s identified and progress regarding the opening of Metrolink, which will be provided to the members of the public and industry on monthly basis.
  • The matter raised that Council implementing the email submissions procedure after the lockdown was to no avail, is duly noted. The emails given for LUM and GIS submissions are operating and functional, and all applications are being processed. However, where there are specific cases such as challenges regarding online submission, we request that those be brought to the attention of management to be addressed.
  • An incorrect email address was listed in the previous communique for the submission of building plans. The correct email address is BuildingApplications@joburg.org.za. We are addressing the issues and technical glitches that have been raised with us, including:
  • We are working on the additional challenges encountered during submission stage, which can be escalated to management for intervention. In this regard, we note the following measures are being undertaken to resolve the issue of email submission for building plans:
  • Increasing storage capacity of emails to allow the applicants to submit high volumes of plans uninterrupted.
  • Increasing staff capacity to improve turnaround times of acknowledging receipt and issuing invoices. We are increasing capacity of staff to improve the turnaround times of acknowledging and issuing of invoices. Furthermore, we are in consultation with Finance to address expediting the confirmation of EFT payments.
  • Once the proof of payment is received from the applicant, the assessment of building plans will be done within the statutory timeframes in terms of NBR.

We hope that the above address most, if not all, issues of concern as we pursue all alternatives available to ease the way of doing business.

Your patience and cooperation will be highly appreciated.

For more information, contact Ms Poppy Louw on 081 235 4999 or PoppyL@joburg.org.za.