Atlantis centre a haven for crime

AN ATLANTIS youth centre has been left in tatters and has become a hotspot for gangsterism and crime in the area.

The Dura Youth Centre, abandoned since 2011, has been a haven for crime.

“From that time on, the centre has been a white elephant. It has been vandalised constantly,” said community activist Allister Lightburn.

The centre, which was built around 1990, is the only youth care centre in the area. Initially, it was used for early childhood development programmes (ECD) daily and for youth activities over weekends.

In the past, the City spent thousands of rands in maintenance, Lightburn said.

“My concern is that the City spends thousands on these upgrades and the place does not get used,” he said.

X-Treme Youth Atlantis Empowerment founder Mitchell Fortuin told the Cape Argus that the building posed a safety risk to the community.

“People get robbed and stabbed when passing that centre – especially the people coming from work,” she said.

The residents don’t feel safe and comfortable around the building. “The gangsters hide behind the centre and that makes the community uneasy,” she said.

She added that the community needed the centre because there weren’t any other facilities.

However, ward councillor Barbara Ross said she is waiting for feedback from the City regarding those who would like to rent the centre. “Owing to the transformations in the City, we are forced to wait. But, as the ward councillor, I did the inspections of the buildings,” she said.

“This facility has been vacated due to the continuous violence and shooting in the area. The City has renovated the premises previously for use by the public. However, the premises have been vandalised again,” the Mayco member for Area North, Suzette Little, said.

Little could not comment on why exactly the City had instructed the community to vacate the centre. “The sub-council has been approached by an organisation interested in operating interventions at the facility. We will follow the City’s processes in order to assist where possible,” Little said.