History of Edenglen South Road Closure In 2001 a group of concerned residents got together as a result of the increase of crime in the area. They felt that they could not sit back and simply complain about the criminal problems in the area, but they had to find a solution and they and the residents would have to become part of the solution. That was the start of the “Edenglen South Ratepayers Road Closure Association”. The committee and the various helpers in the area were faced with major challenges in order to go from where we were in 2001 to where they are today. This entailed a major mindshift for all residents and visitors in this area - from using a different route through the area - to having to go through booms to gain access to the area, not to mention the financial contributions residents were asked to make. The committee can only operate the Road Closure as prescribed by the law, the law states that you can only control access to the area, but we cannot restrict access to any person. This results in a mixed feeling of certain users of the Edenglen South Closure. Our residents can be divided into three main groups: One Group on the Left wanting us to restrict access to people who are not residents or legitimate visitors. One Group in the Middle (The largest group) who accept that we must run the Road Closure according to the law. One Group on the Right who feel that we can have a Closure but they personally should not be stopped at the booms or have any form of control imposed on them. The commonality of all three groups is that they would all like to see less crime in our area, and I am pleased to report that since the implementation of the Closure serious crimes has been brought right down. Unfortunately we still have petty crime, like cars being broken into; and radios and goods stolen from cars. We are continuously looking for ways to reduce this crime but the Road Closure alone will not eradicate it. Residents will also have to address their personal home security. In conclusion, our Road Closure is working, your committee is continuously looking for legitimate ways of upgrading the security within the parameters of the law, but Edenglen is a safer place to live now than it was prior to the Road Closure. We would like to thank the residents for their support. How can we control the crime situation in our suburb without the necessary funds and the financial support of all residents in the Edenglen area? We cannot. We need more membership support (currently 75%). Everything we do costs money, except for the time which the ESRC Committee devotes to the suburb free of charge.Crime does not keep office hours, security has to be controlled 24 hours. Just imagine the scenario if all of the Edenglen booms, guards, reaction vehicles, plus fencing and road closures were to be removed.Where would our crime stats be? The answer can be seen by just observing other suburbs that do not have these facilities. Crime in the surrounding suburbs is on the increase and this could easily be the case in Edenglen. We cannot just leave security to the police alone and we have to take responsibility for our own security. Just a few minutes can make the difference between a life and death circumstance. Estate agents operating in Edenglen are quick to mention the ESRC benefits and the security provided in the suburb which adds additional value to all the properties - including yours. For the achievement of the ESRC objectives and efficient running of the Edenglen South Road Closure we need all residents within the borders of Edenglen South to sign up as members. To enable the ESRC to provide these services, the residents of Edenglen South need to become proactive as a community, talk to their neighbours, become involved and maintain their contributions on a continual monthly basis. If you are already a paying member, please inform those who are not members about what we are achieving in our area and encourage them to join.