JSE listed company takes charge

Premier Foods’ flour mill on the border between Salt River and Observatory has taken the first step towards solving the long-standing problem of enormous truck pushing their way through Observatory’s narrow roads.

The JSE listed company, owners of Snowflake flour which is produced at the mill, has recently hired property from Transnet as a base to park their trucks while they wait to get inside the mill. Up till now, the big trucks have been clogging the roads, including Lower Scott Road, as they queued for their slot at the mill.

Local ward councillor Brett Herron announced recently that he, the Mill, and the Observatory Improvement District (Obsid) have been working together to solve the problem. At a recent public meeting about traffic issues organised by the Obsid, he said: "Premier Mill is going to buy some property (next to Chatham Road), which will give them the turning space into their mill."

He was referring to the fact that the trucks are forced to travel through Obs to get to the mill because the bend at the junction of Lower Main and Malta Road is too sharp for the huge trucks to turn.

Brett said a detailed design which for trucks to access Chatham Road from Malta Road, was recently presented to the mill’s board.

Residents at the Obsid’s “traffic indaba” asked Brett whether the trucks will then be denied access down Lower Scott Road. He replied that there was no need, as Premier “is not being difficult, they are actually working with us."
The company clammed up when ObsLife tried to get details of the plans. But its public relations agency said there were three phases. The first phase was to rent the land for trucks to park while waiting to enter the mill. They did not want to comment on the second and third phases because negotiations are still under way.

ObsLife believes this entails the land purchase to create access via Malta Road.
A press release quoting Kobus Wiese, Premier Foods’ milling director, read: “Having our delivery trucks stuck in traffic is not only frustrating but very costly as far as time, fuel and emissions are concerned. We saw an opportunity to alleviate some of the local traffic congestion when a property adjacent to the milling plant became available for rent from Transnet.”
Brian Amery, former COO at the Obsid, said at the Obsid annual general meeting: "What is happening is that the mill is going to be buying some land on Chatham Street so that the trucks can come off Malta Road. They’re going to make a landing base there and they won’t have to come through Observatory.”