The 12 city-owned facilities have not been used for several years. Many of these facilities were built in highly mobile dune systems and are covered by sand. Their removal is part of the city’s efforts in revitalising its coastline and improving Cape Town’s resilience against the impact of climate change.
Following on from council’s recent approval, the city’s Coastal Management Branch will commence with the demolition of the buildings located along the coast at Strand, Monwabisi, Sonwabe, Macassar, Simon’s Town, Witsand, and Table View.
The buildings to be demolished are as follows:
Earlier this year a team of city officials conducted inspections to determine the current state of the buildings, and the accessibility and use thereof. They have found that the buildings are structurally unsafe, badly vandalised or damaged by coastal processes, and that some are illegally occupied and used for anti-social and criminal activities. As such, a proposal to demolish the buildings was advertised for public comment and presented to the relevant subcouncils in March 2019.
"The buildings blemish our beautiful coastline and they pose a health and safety risk to residents and visitors. Given that it would cost the city nearly R170m to replace these facilities, the department has recommended that the most sustainable and socially responsible solution would be for the city to remove them. Now that we have council’s approval, the department will use the available budget to demolish as many buildings as possible in this financial year still, and thereafter as funding becomes available," said the city’s mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Marian Nieuwoudt.
In the meantime, the city has allocated approximately R25m over the next three years for the upgrade of the coastal infrastructure at Fisherman’s Lane on the False Bay coast.
"Officials within the Coastal Management Department have already started with the planning of the Fisherman’s Lane project and professional service providers will be appointed in due course," said Nieuwoudt.
The city is also busy developing plans for the upgrade of facilities at Monwabisi, the Table View beachfront, and Muizenberg Corner. Once finalised, the plans will be shared with the public.
