This Heritage Month, the newly established Gauteng Heritage Action Group (GHAG) launched its 'Heritage Horror Stories' campaign. Sites that have been neglected for years have received 'black plaques' (the opposite of the prestigious blue plaque) with the aim of shaming owners into taking action. Many of these owners have made big promises over the years but have failed to deliver.
A prestigious blue plaque (The Heritage Portal)
The black plaques have been installed on the properties for passers-by to see. Owners may remove these physical markers but they won't be able to remove the property from the official black plaque list until the site is brought back to life (click here to view the growing list).
Below are the inscriptions for the properties that have been added this Heritage Month. Click on the heading for background and updates. The sites are all based in Johannesburg with the GHAG planning to expand the campaign to other towns and cities across Gauteng in the weeks and months ahead.
"Bought by Urban Ocean in 2005 who promised to restore it and its neighbours. This significant Art Deco heritage building was left without security leaving it to be vandalised. All steel windows and any other metal was removed.
DEMOLITION BY DECAY is an utterly unacceptable practice, completely anti-social yet the authorities do nothing...
