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EDITOR: BETTIE GILIOMEE
SARDINIA BAY LIVESAVING CLUBHOUSE TO BE DEMOLISHED
Lifesavers homeless
The Sardinia Bay Surf Lifesaving Club’s clubhouse which is set to be demolished after being declared unsafe.
ANIKA DE BEER
T
August 29.
HE Sardinia Bay Surf Lifesaving Club (SBSLC) is now officially homeless after the process of demolition of their 40-year-old clubhouse was set to start on Monday,
At time of going to print on Monday, the demolition had not yet begun. The reason for the demolition is that the building had been declared unsafe by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, citing changing weather patterns which caused the sand dunes to shift, leaving the clubhouse too close
to the sea. Cara-Lee Dorfling reports that because the high water mark has reached this point, the structure is now within the Sardinia Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA), according to the definition of an MPA in the Integrated Coastal Management Act (Act No. 24 of 2008). According to municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki, the high water mark level has risen to the seaward facing base of the structures, noted during full moon, high tide periods. This has resulted in exposure of the super structure foundations of the buildings. “The ground level sections of the structure are also dilapidated due to vandalism. The natural weathering conditions have also af-
fected the structural integrity of the balcony support gum poles,” Mniki said. He added that it has been observed that the SBSLC have “illegally erected gabion structures in an attempt to deflect or restrict the tidal action.” “The Integrated Coastal Management Act Act prohibits any acts or physical response to erosion or accretion on coastal public property. No person may construct, maintain or extend any structure, or take any other measures to prevent or promote erosion or accretion of the seashore in respect of coastal public property,” Mniki said. A professional structural assessment was conducted by consulting engineers in May
PHOTO:MORNÉ DU RANDT
2016 and the overall finding was that: “foundations and balconies of the structures are found within the highwater mark zone and are under constant threat to erode and without continual maintenance will result in hazardous conditions being created, followed by instant structural collapse.” Challenges faced In recent years, the SBSLC have had to face numerous challenges, which include the closure of the Sardinia Bay road; the increasing number of break-ins and the fact that they had no running water or electricity. Continued on page 2