By Paddy Harper

Jhupsee claims he didn't realise the age of house he altered

A former municipal architect renovating Durban's city hall will be prosecuted for allegedly riding roughshod over building by-laws.

Ravi Jhupsee also faces additional charges and blacklisting from KwaZulu-Natal's heritage authorities for allegedly remodelling an 80-year-old suburban house into offices without permission.

But Jhupsee, who studied on a municipality bursary, claims he was unaware of the age of the building and that he is the target of a vendetta by his neighbours in upmarket Meyrick Avenue near Durban's St Augustine's Hospital.

Jhupsee - who has a contract to upgrade disabled access to the city hall and its administrative section - said he would defend himself in court.

"I did my homework first. There are 23 light businesses in a 500m radius. I don't know why I have been singled out for this kind of treatment," he said.

Jhupsee said that when he began the alterations, the available research indicated that the building was less than 60 years old.

"Maybe I have erred somewhere, but I believe that my neighbours are being unfair and are using their connectivity to get at me," Jhupsee said.

Neighbour George van der Merwe said they had had to force the city to act against Jhupsee.

"We would have had no problem had he followed the same set of rules and procedures as every other ratepayer. However, he broke almost every rule possible and acted like he was above the law," Van der Merwe said.

City correspondence, in the possession of the Sunday Times, says Jhupsee will be summonsed to appear in Durban's court 21 on May 3 on charges of illegally converting the house into premises for his architecture firm.

If convicted, he faces potential eviction from the house and a daily penalty, payable to the city, for every day he traded illegally.

Ros Devereux, co-ordinator of Amafa, the province's heritage authority, said the body was compiling charges of violating the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act and the National Heritage Resources Act.

If found guilty, Jhupsee may also be blacklisted from working on any other heritage building.

The city's and Amafa's action comes as a result of almost a year of complaints and lobbying by Jhupsee's neighbours about the remodelling of the house, which was built between 1929 and 1930.

In a letter to Jhupsee's neighbours last week, city official Len George said a summons for Jhupsee had been drawn and would be served on him soon.

Jhupsee, who worked for the municipality for eight years as an architect after qualifying at the University of Natal - where he studied on a council bursary - said the council had not informed him of the charges.

He confirmed using the house as business premises and making the alterations, but said he had applied to council for permission.

Source: Sunday Times