30 October 2019
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www.thevillagenews.co.za
HSRA and HPP combine forces Writer De Waal Steyn
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new partnership is set to drive the establishment of a Hermanus Special Ratings Area (HSRA), while at the same time ensuring that safety and security services delivered by Hermanus Public Protection (HPP) will continue in the area. The partnership, announced on Friday last week, between the Board of directors of HPP and the HSRA Steering Committee was the result of a shared vision of ensuring Hermanus remains a highly sought-after investment and tourism destination. “This collaborative partnership, against the backdrop of a common goal – ensuring a safe, clean and caring environment – will allow us to work side-by-side to achieve a sustainable solution for Hermanus,” the organisations said in a joint press statement. “An application to establish an SRA is underway. An SRA is a clearly-defined geographical area, in which property owners contribute additional rates to enhance and supplement municipal services, including crime prevention and public safety. The establishment process is governed by the Overstrand Municipality’s SRA bylaw and policy, which require several stages to be completed to ensure a transparent and participative process. “Should the establishment be successful the intention is to use Hermanus Public Protection (HPP), a registered non-profit company which has been in existence since 2002, as the management body to operate the Hermanus SRA,”
reads the statement. It is envisaged that the HSRA will come into effect on 1 July 2020 provided it gains the compulsory 50% plus one support of property owners. Simultaneously, mandatory levies on property values to fund services to ratepayers (primarily crime prevention, public safety and cleaning) will commence. While the HSRA Steering Committee, led by Michael Farr, is focused on meeting the tight deadlines for each stage of the SRA establishment process, HPP operations will continue. Farr said the results of a perception survey will inform the finalisation of the proposed SRA’s business plan, which will be presented to ratepayers at a public meeting. “At this stage, approximately 10% of property owners have completed the survey, while a 20% completion rate is required to achieve a sufficient level of validity. We wish to urge property owners to complete the survey within the next two weeks if we are to avoid delays in the establishment process,” said Farr. The survey link is: www.surveymonkey.com/r/3FMYKGZ Errol van Staden, HPP chair, said they currently provide foot patrols along the Cliff Path, in the CBD, Hoy’s Koppie and the suburbs within the HPP area; bicycle patrols mainly in the suburbs; vehicle patrols during the day and at night; and surveillance via 19 strategically-positioned cameras. Cleaning services along the Cliff Path and Hoy’s Koppie have been terminated due to lack of funds but will be reinstated when the establishment process of the Hermanus SRA has been
Marine Dynamics received the Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience for a second consecutive year, during the Cape Town Tourism Annual General Meeting held last week. This category is awarded to a Cape Town Tourism Member who successfully engages visitors in their sustainability efforts. This award aims to celebrate that tourism can be a force for good without compromising on visitor enjoyment. Marine Dynamics met the core values of providing visitors with memorable boat-based marine wildlife experiences through being committed to operating sustainably. The award highlights how Marine Dynamics and associated businesses create awareness and encourage visitors to be responsible tourists. Marine Dynamics and affiliated companies were also named as runner up for the Social Impact Award. This category is awarded to a Cape Town Tourism Member that has a creative and long-term approach to improving the lives and opportunities of communities. The award aims to celebrate how tourism can be a force for good when local people are empowered, and benefits are spread. Here a strong focus was placed on the educational efforts of the team. Here are Cape Town Tourism Chairperson, Julie-May Ellingson, Marine Dynamics Marketer, Liezel Viljoen and CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Enver Duminy with the award.
completed and its operations commence. According to the statement, HPP operations were funded by a levy of 10% on municipal rates. The levies were collected by the municipality and paid over to HPP. However, the municipality terminated levy collection on 30 June this year, stating that the old bylaw (gazetted on 25 August 2000) which regulated the HPP City Improvement District (CID) “lacked legality”. “As a result, HPP currently has no guaranteed income and operations are funded from dwindling cash reserves and voluntary contributions,” said Van Staden. Given the unwanted consequences of a gap in security services by HPP due to a shortage of funds by the middle of the new year, the HSRA Steering Committee and the HPP Board appeal to property owners to continue making voluntary contributions to fund HPP operations during the transition phase. “The HPP Board has already reduced the number of foot patrollers throughout the HPP area. There is a strong likelihood that most or even all foot and bicycle patrols will be suspended (including on the Cliff Path) by the end of December 2019 if property owners do not make voluntary contributions to HPP. Crime prevention and public safety could be highly compromised as a result of inadequate funding,” according to the statement. Property owners within the HPP area have three payment options:
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Via EFT directly into HPP’s current account; Secure payment via PayFast linked to the HPP website (www.hppsecurity.co.za);
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By crossed cheque (made out to Hermanus Public Protection and dropped off at the offices of Pam Golding Properties in the CBD).
HPP’s banking details are: Hermanus Public Protection, ABSA Hermanus, branch code: 632 005, account number: 404 947 1430, account type: current account. It is important to remember when making a payment that all transactions should reflect the erf number as reference. Send confirmation of payment via EFT to hpp@hermanus.co.za. According to the statement a tiered system for monthly contributions is proposed: • Properties with a municipal value of R3 million or below: R150 • Properties with a municipal value up to R6 million: R200 • Properties with a municipal value up to R10 million: R250 • Properties with a municipal value above R10 million: R300 The municipal value of your property is reflected on the monthly municipal bill in the top right-hand corner. For more information, including the proposed SRA boundaries, visit hermanussra. co.za and for more information on HPP, visit hppsecurity.co.za
