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LOCKDOWN LEVEL:
LEV
COVID-19 DASHBOARD OVERSTRAND
6
3
EL
TOTAL CASES AS OF 8 FEB 2021:
OVERSTRAND BREAKDOWN OF CASES: TOTAL (ACTIVE)
WORLD: 109 505 562 SOUTH AFRICA: 1 491 807 WESTERN CAPE: 272 302 (18.25% of cases in SA) OVERBERG: 13 121
• FISHERHAVEN: 43 (3) • GANSBAAI: 180 (4) • HAWSTON: 435 (9) • HERMANUS: 714 (19) • KLEINMOND: 667 (16)
17 February 2021 LAST WEEK'S TOTAL CASES:
• MT PLEASANT: 353 (5) • ONRUS: 201 (5) • SANDBAAI: 214 (2) • STANFORD: 376 (4) • VERMONT: 91 (2) • ZWELIHLE: 1 079 (8)
(8 FEB)
WORLD: 106 783 422 SOUTH AFRICA: 1 476 135 (15th in the world) WESTERN CAPE: 269 833 OVERBERG: 13 021 (445 deaths) OVERSTRAND: 4 910 (133 deaths)
TOTAL: 4 947 (82)
LET'S TALK
Inclusive solution needed for Cliff Path Walking next to the busiest road in town is no alternative to walking next to the sea. The unique layout of our town funnels all vehicular and pedestrian traffic within millimetres from one another along Main Road between Sea Road and Mollergren Park. It doesn’t make sense not to allow pedestrians to walk next to the sea, especially when there is no other alternative, no other quiet road, for them to use but the narrow sidewalk of Main Road. Four years ago, the Cliff Path Action Group (CPAG) started a community driven and funded process to address this issue. With hindsight, very naively we thought continuing the cliff path along Poole’s Bay would be a wonderful contribution to our town and resolve the matter once and for all. We approached the issue by encouraging people to walk along an informal footpath along the coastline of Poole’s Bay and engaging in a formal Environmental Impact Assessment to analyse the viability of continuing the cliff path along Poole’s Bay. Not only has Hermanus evolved from a fishing village to a coastal holiday destination, but the surrounds have exploded into a world-class wine
industry. Yet, we fail to address the issue of pedestrian access between the historical town centre and our beaches in the context of a modern Hermanus. We call on the owners of the 13 properties in Poole’s Bay to engage in meaningful discussions and address this issue to find solutions rather than sidestepping the issue with a Save our Shores campaign (The Village News 10 Feb 2021, P12). The owners of land on Poole’s Bay are claiming the area is a pristine eco-sensitive bay in desperate need of being preserved as the last example of a sensitive inter-tidal zone along the Walker Bay coastline. There is little evidence of the claim that Poole’s Bay is a “rare undisturbed stretch of coastline protected from human disruption”. Apart from various concrete pipelines in the area, which are the remains of a redundant pool pump station where waste was pumped directly into the sea, there is the continued maintenance of the tidal pool, managed as a swimming pool, as well as an artificial lawn area in front of Bay View (well below the high-water mark). Bricks regularly wash up, all because of the ruins of the old Bay View Hotel,
Planet models should be treasured I was sickened and horrified to read about the vandals who have done their best to destroy the planet models on the Cliff Path. Members of the Hermanus Astronomy Centre Committee by hard work and expertise have given our community a treasure, which should be appreciated.
I don’t expect any of the vandals will read this letter, but if they do I would remind them that the first Vandals were part of the barbarian hordes, who overcame the Romans and destroyed their civilisation. Is it a good idea to emulate barbarians? Margaret Hart Voëlklip
which were used as landfill. Poachers lived for many months undisturbed in an abandoned hut on the water’s edge pilfering the last perlemoen. The “critically endangered ecosystem” is overgrown with various invasive alien species like statices. It is therefore difficult to observe the results of any of this so-called deep-rooted conservation attitude in action. Poole’s Bay is not unique in its claim to be part of a Marine Protected Area and Critically Endangered Ecosystem. This is also valid for the entire area between the New Harbour and Grotto where the rest of the cliff path exists.
We need to figure out a way forward. There are various alternatives, including that most of the route remains an informal hiking trail like the popular waterfall hike at Vogelgat, or that a path be built that is not dependent on the tides, or a path that makes provision for wheelchair access, as the municipality insisted happen at Fick’s Pool.
The homeowners of Poole’s Bay claim that access has always been permitted to the public. However this is simply not true. Our best efforts this season to introduce people to the joys of the informal hiking trail along the coastline of Poole’s Bay were short-lived.
The CPAG has appointed an Environmental Assessment Practitioner according to regulatory requirements to conduct a transparent and objective investigation of the impacts associated with the proposal to connect the two parts of the Cliff Path along Poole’s Bay. At this stage we are in the pre-application phase of the Basic Assessment Process. This process involves the incorporation of input from authorities, specialists, interested and affected parties, as well as the public.
All 70 route markers were very quickly pulled out. Why? To save the shores or to display a continued intolerance of sharing the shore with fellow ratepayers? Notices of CPAG have been removed and replaced by an inhouse Save our Shores campaign. Should both notices not be displayed so that the public can make up their own mind?
To date heritage, avian and freshwater studies have been conducted and have not flagged anything of significant concern. The approach currently followed is a comprehensive investigation making provision for a complete Cliff Path connection from where the path abruptly turns away from the sea at Sea Road, to where it continues at the eastern side of Mollergren Park.
This way every metre of Poole’s Bay falls under investigation, thereby pre-empting any questions that may arise at a later stage when only selective parts are investigated for possible construction. For information and to follow the EIA process, please visit www.ecosense.co.za/2020/11/pooles-bay-connection-path-hermanus (scroll down to the bottom of the page to leave a comment and / or register to receive future correspondence on the process). Alternatively, send Kozette Myburgh, Environmental Practitioner of Ecosense, an email at kozette@ ecosense.co.za At this stage, the 14-point claim to “stop the destruction” only affirms the ongoing attempt to keep pedestrians out of Poole’s Bay. We are not trespassers, thieves, anarchists or environmentally insensitive people. We are fellow ratepayers who are concerned for our safety and that of tourists. There is no doubt that construction activities in an environmentally sensitive area need to be addressed with great caution. It is for this very reason that the decision was taken to consult an independent environmental practice to guide the process with specialised studies and recommendations. The Cliff Path Action Group Team
With this image, ‘To the centre’, Elizma Fourie of the Hermanus Photographic Society was the first runner-up in the PSSA’s monthly website competition that was judged in December-January. Elizma also has the 3rd highest cumulative score In the PSSA website competition – and she is no. 1 in the Western Cape. Congratulations to Elizma, and also to the Hermanus Photographic Society, which is the log leader (and 6th nationally) of the senior club competition in the Western Cape.
