FAQs

If you have recently moved into the neighbourhood, we would love to add you and your family members to the neighbourhood WhatsApp group. This way,  you can receive regular updates about neighbourhood-wide issues, crime incidents, missing pets, and HGC events. 

Each street has its own WhatsApp group, managed by a volunteer, known as the ‘Street Representative’. All members of the street groups are automatically added to the HGC Community group, where HGC-wide information is shared. This group functions like a distribution list, and so all questions are still managed by street reps.

Please note that all groups are strictly for information-sharing purposes (not for social chatting or solicitation). Our moderators do their best to ensure this.

To get added to your street group, please send your details (name, street address, email address and contact number) to info@hgccommunity.org. Your  Street Representative will be in touch to welcome you and add you to the WhatsApp group.

You can also check out the neighbourhood I Love HGC Facebook page to learn more about the local businesses, various events, and engage more socially with others in the neighbourhood: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604518430423376

There are a number of road closures and booms within the HGC which have been approved by the City of Joburg.

In the summer months the vehicle and pedestrian gates are locked at 8pm each evening and reopened at 5am each morning. The opening time changes to 6am in the winter months.

These road closures are a significant contributor to safety and security in the suburb and also assist with traffic management.

The HGC community has weekly refuse removal by Pikitup on the following days:

• Wednesdays for Hurlingham and Glenadrienne
• Mondays for Craighall

Recycling is also collected by Pikitup on those days. Simply  leave it in a clear bag on the ground beside your bin.  You can place all recyclables in the same bag, just ensure they care clean. After your first collection, Pikitup will leave clear bags for you to use the following week.

For issues with refuse removal, please contact Pikitup: https://pikitup.co.za/contacts/

To report illegal dumping, please call: 0860 562874 / 011 375 5555 / 010 055 5990/ WhatsApp: 0827791361

If you would like to use a private recycling organisation, Whole Earth Recycling serves many homes and clients in the neighbourhood and is also a great community upliftment initiative (giving formal employment to recyclers ) – learn more by visiting their website: https://wholeearth.co.za/

Interesting fact – did you know that the houses on Gleneagles Road have different electricity service providers depending on which side of the street they are on? Those on the north (Hurlingham) side are with Eskom, while those on the south (Craighall) side are with City Power.

The reason for this is that Gleneagles Road was originally the boundary line between the City of Johannesburg and Sandton. The houses on the Craighall side are part of Joburg, and those on the Hurlingham side are part of Sandton.  This is also why Balmoral Avenue changes its name to Atholl Avenue at the Gleneagles intersection, as the road had a different name in the different ‘cities’.

We ask that residents adhere to the speed limit in the suburb, which is a maximum of 40km/h. Our beautiful, leafy suburb is a popular place for young and old to walk and cycle, and many residents have pets.

We have installed speed monitoring equipment in roads in which speeding is a concern.

By virtue of the HGC Residents’ Association’s Public Benefit Organisation status under Section 18A of the Income Tax Act, any contributions made to the HGC are tax deductible. You can get up to 45% of your contribution back from SARS, depending on your tax rate, if you claim the donations in your tax return and submit your Section 18A tax certificate to SARS annually with your return.

Certificates are automatically generated and emailed out to contributors at the end of May (just in time for tax filing season), though if you have questions or want to change the details of the person who’s name should be on the certificate, please contact: finance@hgccommunity.org

All HGC Residents’ Association members are invited (via WhatsApp and email) to attend the annual general meeting (AGM) that takes place annually, as well as ad-hoc community meetings called to discuss important issues.

Additionally, a small committee of volunteers (the HGC Committee) meets monthly to discuss neighbourhood issues, projects, and any topics brought to the Committee.  If you have something you would like to raise with the Committee, please contact your street rep or email info@hgccommunity.org.

The HGC Residents’ Association is volunteer-run, so everything we do and all projects we undertake rely on volunteers.  If you are interested in helping out, there are several ways to get involved:

• Volunteer to be a street representative.
• Volunteer to join the Committee.
• Volunteer to help out at an event.
• Organise an initiative and let the Committee know how they can help promote/support it.
• Be a proactive community member: take care of the space directly outside of your property, get to know your neighbours, and monitor and report any issues you see in the neighbourhood to the relevant municipal department (e.g. potholes, pavements in need of fixing, street sign damage, road signs and street markings, water leaks, and street lights not working).

If you are interested in volunteering or doing something for the neighbourhood, please contact your street rep or email info@hgccommunity.org.

In order to create the safest suburb possible, we urge all residents to keep in mind the bylaws that the City of Joburg has put in place.

Remember to report any infringement – we can only combat unlawfulness if we all work together as a suburb.

Here is the complete list of bylaws to be aware of: https://joburg.org.za/documents_/By-Laws/Pages/By-Laws.aspx

The City is becoming stricter on borehole drilling due to concerns that illegal boreholes can damage underground infrastructure and deplete water aquafers. To address this, he City is enforcing Section 14(1) of the City’s Land Use Scheme (2018). All residents or businesses wanting to dig a new borehole on their property must obtain consent before they drill.  As of [date], these  are the steps outlined to legally drill on your property:

1. Submit an application by email to LandUseApplications@joburg.org.za,  including the following:

(a) Completed Application Form 10

(b) Motivational letter (indicating why you need to drill the borehole)

(c) Copy of your title deed

(d) Zoning details for your property

(e) A drawing indicating where on the property the borehole will be placed

2. Pay the application fee of R1,185 – see the fee schedule in the application for more details

3. Wait for a departmental review: City engineering departments (Johannesburg Water, the Johannesburg Roads Agency, City Power) and the Environmental Infrastructure Service Department (EISD) will assess the application to ensure no detrimental impact on existing infrastructure. A geologist also checks for dolomite risks.

4. Approval or refusal: The Land Use Management (LUM) Department will make a decision, which can be appealed. The City aims to process applications within 28 days, but note that delays are common.

5. SANS 10299 Compliance: It is also recommended that your drilling contractor adheres to SANS 10299, the South African National Standard for groundwater resource management.

6. Borehole sign outside your property: All properties with a borehole must have a sign in front of their property indicating the presence of a borehole.

One recommendation we can make is to reach out to others in the neighbourhood who have drilled a borehole to find out who they used and what their experience was.

The HGC Residents’ Association supports the city’s urban densification goals while also working hard to maintain the aesthetics and character of the neighbourhood.  To this end, the HGC works with residents to ensure that any proposed development is in line with the plan we agreed some years ago.

The general principles applied by the  HGC Residents’ Association in deciding whether to support or object to a proposed re-zoning, subdivision or development are:

• HGC is typically willing to support Residential 1 rezoning, but not Residential
• There should be no more than 11 dwellings per hectare in Hurlingham / Craighall
• Minimum erf size of 900sqm
• There should be no more than 16 dwellings per hectare in Glenadrienne
• Minimum erf size of 600sqm

In cases where developments are against the public interest, the HGC Residents’ Association will object to proposed development and undertake litigation in support of these objections.

If you are thinking of subdividing, developing or rezoning your property, please engage with the HGC Residents’ Association before you apply,  to avoid protracted and costly contested applications.

For other changes to a property that may cause issues with your neighbours – including building line relaxation, height of buildings, second dwellings, roof material, stormwater, views, privacy, etc. – the HGC Committee typically doesn’t get involved before neighbours have negotiated with each other, but we do actively support residents in accessing the relevant by-laws and connecting them with the relevant City of Johannesburg officials.  If you are dealing with an issue like this, we recommend:

• Meet with your neighbour, or hold a call to discuss your concerns. The HGC Residents’ Association can support you by providing the relevant legislation and/or regulations.
• If the meeting does not resolve the issue, send an email to the owner which clearly sets out your concerns.
• If the issue is still not resolved, the HGC Residents’ Association can assist you to connect with the relevant City of Johannesburg officials who are tasked with enforcing the by-laws.

The HGC Residents’ Association is actively opposed the proposed construction of the Gautrain extension in our suburb, and is actively monitoring developments in this regard. Concerned residents can lodge an objection to this proposed extension by sending an email to: The Gauteng Management Agency at phase1@gautengrapidrail.co.za

There are no advertising opportunities available on HGC communications at present. Please use the I Love HGC Facebook page for any local business posts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604518430423376 

The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) has published a potential route for the extension of the Gautrain, which envisages that it will rise above ground in or somewhere around Lovat Road, approximately 200m from the Braamfontein Spruit, and continue as a viaduct (above ground) across the Braamfontein Spruit.

However, there will be extensive further technical, environmental and other feasibility studies required before the proposed route is finalised and construction can start, with many opportunities for further public participation. Construction could only start after the Gauteng Provincial Government will take over ownership of the express commuter rail system and manages to secure the very substantial funding which will be required for this project. The HGC Committee are monitoring developments and provide periodic updates to our residents.

For further details, please visit the Gautrain website: https://gma.gautrain.co.za/projects/Shared%20Documents/Preliminary%20Route%20Alignment%20Report%20-%20June%202021.pdf

 We encourage residents and other interested parties to object and request that the proposed section through Hurlingham and Bordeaux South is constructed underground:

1. Register as an interested and affected party: email the GMA at phase1@gautengrapidrail.co.za For Attention: Project Manager GRRIN Extension Project, with the subject GRRINE/RD01 to be registered. Keep the email confirmation you receive.
2. Send your written comments and concerns to the same email address: Note that in this phase, an objection to the new proposed route needs to be made (not the concept of the Gautrain extension itself).

This neighbourhood’s story started in May 1938 when Hurlingham was first proclaimed as a suburb. It was originally part of an old farm named Zandfontein, located on the Witwatersrand. Hurlingham was named after a renowned English polo field with a thousand-year-old history, but the area also has Scottish origins, evident in road names like Balmoral, Stirling, Kinross, and Jedburgh.  Our suburbs were once the domains of mining magnates and captains of industry, and at that time , it was considered countryside – a day’s drive by horse-drawn carriage to Johannesburg proper.