Recently, Kalk Bay residents and activists stood their ground to protect the beach area near the famous Kalk Bay tidal pools.
Photos of the construction, led by the iconic Brass Bell restaurant, reportedly circulated on social media during the week. These caused a stir among the fishing village residents who even took to some peaceful protests against the restaurant’s expansion.
Said expansion would see a wooden deck cover the protested area to give people “an area to sunbathe without getting covered in sea sand,” as Brass Bell owner Tony White expressed as per Groundup.
However, for some Kalk Bay residents, this was more than just a deck, but rather another attempt from the businessman to expand – this time onto what is left of the historic beach just 100m of the high watermark of the leased land.
The City of Cape Town stepped in, and Mayco Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Eddie Andrews requested that all construction ceases for the time being.
The area Brass Bell resides upon belongs to PRASA, and the construction area requires environmental authorisation – which White did not attain before construction.
“I had no idea that an unobtrusive deck that size would need formal approval by Prasa. I now know this to be the case, and will not proceed with the deck unless I have formal approval,” White expressed to Daily Maverick.
In the argument of the protestors, the Kalk Bay tidal pools are a slice of indigenous history. The remaining land where the deck construction began is “the last piece of open land around these pools”, creating a situation for privatisation encroaching on public spaces. Their plight is toward that of maintaining history and communal free spaces, as Traci Kwaai a community activist noted in a protest announcement.
Some residents have also shared a long-winded battle with the Brass Bell businessman and the expansions that have ensued over time.
The City, PRASA and the DFFE Oceans and Coastal Environment Compliance are set to meet next week.
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Picture: Liezl Human/ GroundUp