South Western

The Temple of Understanding in Chatsworth

The huge suburban sprawl of Chatsworth lies about 20 kms south west of Durban's CBD and 4km from Durban international airport. Access to Chatsworth is via the N 2 onto the Higginson Highway.

With about 300 000 residents, Chatsworth is quite literally a "city within a city" which has a rich blend of culture despite the unavoidable effects of urbanisation. The area is dotted with churches, mosques and temples. The Hare Krishna Temple has earned a place on the KZN tourist map and is the largest temple in the southern hemisphere. It is a firm favourite for local and overseas visitors visiting Durban with its breathtaking detailed architecture. It is situated across from the Gandhi Centenary Park.

Chatsworth was planned from 1960 and settled from 1964 and by 1980 consisted of 11 units having 7 000 sub-economic and 14 000 economic houses. Like all cities Chatsworth has a distinctive socio-economic division. The "elite" areas stand out from their less fortunate neighbours and the homes here are bigger and more expensive and the general surroundings are in tip-top shape.

Thanks to recent developments especially the Chatsworth Centre, which is one of the busiest malls in the country (with some 1.2 million people choosing to shop there every month) one can buy almost anything and one does not have to go to the city centre.

The South Western division is divided into Chatsworth North, South, Central. The suburbs of Yellowwood Park and Lamontville are incorporated into the South Western branch.

Over the past two year and a half various play parks have been developed in Lamontville and these include Linear Park, Gwala, Mpanza, Kingdom Hall and Cele Avenue Parks. These play parks are extremely well utilized by the children of the area who have been deprived of these play areas. A general clean up of verges and traffic islands has taken place and is done on an ongoing basis.

The main parks in Chatsworth are Havenside, Woodhurst, Gandhi Centenary Park and Arena Park Drive. These parks are very well utilized over the weekends for children parties, wedding photographs, braais and family get togethers.

The Chatsworth area also has many mini parks, these include Silverglen, Kasturdene, Moorcross, Mobeni, Topaz and Crossmoor. Incorporated in the parks are playgrounds which are well utilized by the children of Chatsworth. Chatsworth also boasts 42 recreational fields, which accommodate the various codes of sport and are utilized throughout the year.

D’MOSS areas such as the Silverglen D’MOSS Park and Wetlands serve as a mini and macro environment for a diverse range of wildlife and also as a "green lung" in an ever increasing concrete jungle.