Residents want answers on Bathurst hall’s future
Concern as roof sheets, other items removed from structure damaged by fire several months ago
The removal of roofing and other items from Bathurst’s Centenary Hall by an outside contractor has ruffled the feathers of the town’s residents, who are still waiting for Ndlambe Municipality to engage with them about plans for the facility that was gutted in a fire earlier this year.
The historic venue was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of February 7. Since then, residents have been eagerly waiting for Ndlambe Municipality to engage them about the future of the community facility.
Instead, they awoke to the sight of a salvage company taking away corrugated iron roof sheeting, along with other items, leaving them with more questions than answers.
“We were shocked to see a company removing the debris,” said a resident, who spoke to Talk of the Town on condition of anonymity.
“We want the municipality to first engage the residents about plans for the hall. We currently do not know whether they are demolishing it or are going to renovate it. They have been silent for a very long time since the incident.”
Of even more concern, said the source, was that there had been other valuable assets still in good condition in the building.
“There was undamaged wood, and furniture including chairs and stoves,” the source said.
Residents were disturbed that the company contracted by Ndlambe was taking these away.
The source claimed that the municipality had failed to maintain the building, and that the fact it was not fenced meant it was easy to access.
Responding to questions from TotT, Ndlambe Municipal spokesperson Cecil Mbolekwa said the SA Police Service had issued their forensic report and released the hall as a crime scene.
“The municipality has received a report from a structural engineer with regard to the possibility of rebuilding the hall on its current foundations. We await responses from our insurance claim before further decisions can be made regarding the possibility of rebuilding.”
All movable assets in the hall at the time of the fire were either moved to other offices or scrapped from the council’s asset register, Mbolekwa said.
The Heritage Portal website explains that the 1820 Settler Memorial Hall was erected in 1920 as part of the Settler centenary commemorations. It was paid for by subscriptions raised by descendants of Settler families. In recent times, it has been hired for community functions, such as funerals, and has been used every year as a matric exam venue.
According to a report in the Daily Dispatch, the control room of local security company Multi Security received an alarm signal at 3.55am on February 7. Their response was there seven minutes later and by that time there was smoke coming from the building, the Dispatch report said.
A door had been kicked in, pointing to a deliberate arson attack rather than an electrical fault.