Plett beach fencing ‘necessary to curb Covid’

There has been anger among Plettenberg Bay residents over the fencing off of beaches along the coastal holiday town’s shoreline, even before national government announced beach closures in December, but the Bitou municipality has said it was a necessary step in curbing the spread of Covid-19.

“The municipal council and the municipality as a whole are serious about the Covid-19 pandemic. Loved ones have been lost in this town, while the effects of staff absenteeism and low morale as a result of positive testing, enforced self-isolation and related matters have been and still are being felt,” said municipal spokesman Andile Namntu.

“The safety of the staff, the residents and the visitors are deemed to be of paramount importance.”

He added that it was for these reasons that the council specifically considered measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic when the seasonal plan was discussed and considered on 27 November, reports Knysna Plett Herald.

Council agreed that it would be necessary to control numbers at the different beaches for an “undetermined period” and that funding would be made available from the municipal budget to do so.

“The decision to fence off certain areas was not directly related to the beach lockdown,” Namntu said.

When the fencing started going up, residents were unhappy for several reasons, including the aesthetics of the project.

“When the specifications for the fencing were prepared, aesthetic appearance, although considered, was not the most important criteria. Functionality and cost-effectiveness were regarded as more important,” said Namntu.

Although the town’s most popular beach, Central Beach, was the focus of the council discussion, Namntu said, it was necessary to extend the fencing to include other beaches.

“It would have served little purpose if the Central Beach area was fenced off, only to find people accessing the same beach from Hobie Beach. As a result, Hobie Beach was also fenced off.” Namntu added that during the initial beach closures, introduced on 16 December, large numbers of people flocked to the Keurbooms Estuary at Poortjies in an uncontrolled manner and it became clear that the only manner to manage numbers in that area would be by means of fencing in appropriate places.

“The Covid-19 pandemic will not go away overnight. Through its actions, the Bitou municipality has shown that it is committed, willing to and able to control the number of people that may be allowed on the different beaches and it is hoped that this will play a role and be recognised should a similar beach lockdown be considered during Easter holidays.”

The initial fencing needed was 430m to cover Central Beach, the picnic area in Odlands Drive, Lookout Beach and the Nature’s Valley River mouth. It is unclear what the final length of the fencing is after the Poortjies area was also included.

In terms of permission for the erection of the fences, the municipality said that no permission was required as it formed part of the municipality’s operational procedures under the direction of the relevant officials.

Loved ones have been lost in this town