Durban - Time is running out to get much-needed restaurant facilities at one of the South Coast’s most attractive beaches ready in time for the festive season.
The lack of operating restaurants at the beachfront pavilion has had a negative impact on the Scottburgh tourism industry, driving many tourists away from the once bustling, vibrant resort.
“It’s not what it used to be,” said visitor Graeme Lamprey, who had hoped to find a restaurant open this week.
“I was here in November and what I knew as the Wimpy restaurant was shut then. It’s still shut today: it’s sad to see. They are killing this place.”
The well-known “Wimpy” restaurant (on the left and centre of the picture) has been shut since August last year, while what was a nearby pub, with decking, has been vacant since July 2013.
Both are owned by the local Umdoni Municipality, which has to award the tenders to the successful bidders.
The only businesses operating at the pavilion are a beachwear, a sweet and an ice-cream shop.
Adding to the resort’s woes are the long-standing “riotous” night-time goings-on, where “lewd and offensive” behaviour plays out, along with loud music, revving of engines, spinning of wheels and littering with glass.
A furious local resident, who did not want to be named, said that the so-called security at the beachfront was “disgraceful”.
People were drinking and partying until 2-3am, and this had forced some people to move away from the area.
The DA planned to hand over a “Save the Scott-burgh Beachfront” petition – backed by 1 900 signatures – to Umdoni local municipality mayor, Siyabonga Khwela, in a bid to resolve the problems.
“The issue of the two vacant shops has got to be sorted out by the end of October at the latest. A lot of work needs to be done in the premises before they can open.
“If the tenders can be awarded and there are no objections, the restaurants could open in time for the festive season,” said DA councillor Eddy Baptie, a member of the municipal executive committee.
“I am optimistic, because there really is no other option,” he added.
At the April launch of the nearby, revamped Blue Marlin Hotel, which had undergone a R35m facelift, the mayor said the tender process for the pavilion facilities would get under way within two weeks.
Te hotel’s general manager, Phillip Schalkwyk, who has signed the petition, said it was “very sad” that nothing had materialised.
Baptie said tourism figures were down, with many visitors publicly stating that they would not return.
The petitioners want the municipality to address the misconduct by declaring the affected area a “no-car zone” at night, pointing out in their memorandum that the bad behaviour made the lives of locals and visitors uncomfortable and the area a no-go zone for law-abiding people.
The petitioners also want full-time peace officers deployed to the beach “to maintain orderly conduct and secure the safety of beachfront users.”
There were already signs that the misconduct was spilling over into other beach precincts in Umdoni, which was “gaining a reputation as a place where such things are tolerated, and our image as the Jewel of the South Coast has been severely tarnished,” the signatories said in their petition.
Petitioning for the vacant shops to be leased within 30 days, the signatories are urging that the processes are carried out with transparency.
The municipal manager, Xolani Luthuli, had not responded by the publication deadline.
Daily News