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Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO deputy mayor, Gift Banda will soon be constructing town houses at Ascot Race Course after the Bulawayo city council granted him permission to buy land worth $130,000.The land, measuring 3,5 hectares, will be used to construct town houses for middle to high income earners.

According to the latest council report, Banda made an application to develop a town house project.

“An application has been received from Mr G Banda of 114 Circular Drive Burnside Township seeking permission to purchase a portion of the Ascot Race Course and it reads as follows: Please accept this letter as an application to develop a Town House Project.

“The space intended for building will be 3.5 hectares of land on the proposed space.

“This development will be in between Ascot Flats and United Bulawayo Hospitals and situated within five kilometres east of the city centre.

“It is a prime location that is, upmarket area due to its accessibility, proximity to Ascot shopping Centre. The housing development is envisaged to be at this prime location. Once finished the project is targeted at the middle to high income group,” reads a council report.

The local authority acceded to Banda’s application and the director of engineering services Engineer Simela Dube and the town lands and planning committee recommended that the applicant shall at his own expense seek the assistance of a registered land surveyor to survey the piece of land.

“That Stand 18827 Bulawayo Township measuring 3,5 hectares as depicted on TPA8269 be sold to Mr Gift Banda at a selling price of US$130,000 for the establishment of town houses with a building condition of a plinth area of 2,000m2,” read the report.

The city council, which is battling a housing backlog of over 100,000, in March handed over nearly 400 serviced residential stands in a new suburb, Emhlangeni, to residents as part of its pre-sell housing projects.

BCC began the presell programme by servicing the Mahatshula North medium density suburb and Pumula and Emganwini high density stands between 2012 and 2013.