PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A proposed venue change for this year’s annual Plett Rage student festival has caused quite a stir among residents.
Organisers of this event – which brings thousands of school leavers to the town every year and contributes about R50-million to the local economy over the period – have submitted an occasional land use application to the Bitou municipality to host the festival along the popular Central beach. The application is for this year’s festival as well as for the next five years.
While most locals concede that the festival is a massive boost for the local economy, some believe it could have a negative impact not only on marine life but also residents and businesses in the area.
Organisers have through Marike Vreken urban and environmental planners submitted the application and the public had until Friday, July 28 to comment.
Last year the event was hosted on the Ganse Vallei farm, also known as the Plettenberg Bay waste water treatment works (WWTW), but the municipality is currently upgrading it and therefore it is no longer available.
The organisers said that over the past decade Central beach had played an integral role in Plett Rage, providing daytime entertainment and a recreational space for the students. This usually wrapped up at sunset at around 20:00.
CENTRAL BEACH 'NEW VENUE'
It is now proposed that Central beach become the new venue for the Rage by extending the entertainment until 22:00.
The occasional land use is expected to be in operation from November 24 to December 2, 2017. The actual hosting of the event will only take place from the December 1 to December 9.
“It is the intention of the organisation committee to operate this land use on the same period over December over a five-year period from 2017 until 2021.”
According to the application, the festival will comply with all the necessary legislation and guidelines.
Demonstrating their commitment to upgrading the infrastructure and landscaping of Central beach together with the municipality, the organisers agreed to contribute R250 000 every year for this purpose.
The proposal suggests that the site will include three marquee tents with alcohol purchase points; a main electronic dance music stage; a VIP stage and DJ deck; vendor areas to purchase food; production zones; ATMs; portable water closets; an emergency tent; fencing around the festival for security purposes; and venue operating centres.
'NO PARKING ISSUES'
“Plett Rage will not make use of any on-site parking due to the limited parking space available at Central beach. The organisers propose to make use of taxi shuttle services and public transport drop-off points.”
Parking will be made available to businesses in the precinct and would have no impact on surrounding business owners or their patrons, organisers said.
It is proposed that the festival grounds would be open from 11:00 to 23:30 during the festival period, with a wind-down period after 22:00.
Local night-time entertainment venues will be encouraged to cater for the students in the main street after 22:00.
The organisers conceded that there will be some impacts including noise pollution, difficulty accessing properties, and safety and security attributed to uncontrolled students under the influence of alcohol. It is proposed to mitigate these impacts through appropriate traffic regulating measures; employing additional security; enlisting the services of a qualified sound engineer to regulate decibel levels considered suitable for the surrounding environment; and allowing no loud music after 22:00.
FEAR OF ADVERSE EFFECTS
Polly Bramham of the Plettenberg Bay Community Environment Forum said while the festival is a significant event on the local calendar and brings with it benefits, the forum objects to the proposal as it would “only provoke a negative response from residents, and cause adverse effects on tourism and on marine wildlife in the bay”.
“This is a momentous proposal that should have been put out for proper public consultation, instead of which there appears to have been a very obscure and misleading notice published, apparently to avoid foreseeable public outrage,” Bramham said.
“Many of the tourism businesses that run directly from Central beach are reliant on the residential and migratory marine life that is found along Plett’s coastline. In spite of the suggested parameters, it is unrealistic to suppose that the curfews will be adhered to, or that the bass levels will be kept down. Such noise pollution is extremely detrimental to marine mammals, and likely to cause localised movements; consequently these will cause negative impacts on ecotourism.”
Plett Rage organisers have submitted a proposal to change the venue for this year's student festival to Plett's Central beach. Photo: Supplied
'NEEDS STRICT MONITORING'
Bramham suggested that should the permit be approved, strict monitoring should be carried out and recommended taking “each event year by year”.
“It is absurd to think that the Plett Rage has reached a satisfactory level of containment with minimal impact and strong residential support; to unleash it for the next five years could be disastrous.”
The Plettenberg Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association had similar concerns and suggestions.
Secretary Margaret Marshall said due to the proximity to surrounding residential areas, the noise would be “highly disruptive and unacceptable to all surrounding residents and to other tourists”.
Marshall is also concerned about road safety and also suggested that the event, should the permit be approved, be given the green light on an annual basis and not for the full five years.
Event spokesperson Ashley Brown said the organisers would comment on the matter shortly. The municipality did not respond to questions before going to print.
Locals' best interests at heart, say organisers
While there has been opposition to the proposal to host this year’s Plett Rage student festival at Central beach, organisers say the motivation behind the move includes benefits for the town and the students.
“It's really upsetting to see so many locals not support us as a festival when the week brings so many new faces, future tourists, and new clientele to the town,” said assistant project manager Ashley Brown.
He said their vision was to build healthy and safe festival grounds that could not only be enjoyed by festivalgoers, but also locals.
The event also plays a major role in skills development in the area, he said. “Our music curators make the effort to educate producers and DJs in building themselves as a brand as well as giving them the platform to collaborate with the festival and its trusted sponsors, suppliers, and artists.
“Organisers have always wanted and encouraged the support of local businesses, accommodation suppliers, tourist attractions and restaurants, but we've seen a small group of individuals go out of their way to revolt against the hosting of the festival," Brown said, adding "although we have many local businesses pleading us to fight for the changes we are trying to implement.”
He said the financial impact stretches beyond the eight days of the festival. “More than 90% of our suppliers, facilitators and staff come from areas in and around the Garden Route, but more so Plettenberg Bay. The financial implication for local economy and growth far exceeds possible inconvenience caused.”
He added that when one looks at South Africa's biggest music festivals like OppiKoppi and Rocking the Daisies, one quickly realises that, although these festivals are multimillion rand corporations, they make use of farmland as their festival space. “This venue type removes all clientele from its local CBD, owning the monopoly of all spending including on accommodation, food, leisure, alcohol, and entertainment.”
He said that they have been approached to follow suit, but they “love Plettenberg Bay” and what it has to offer and therefore made the “bold decision” of focusing the festival around the town.
Brown said they have also gone out of their way to minimise the inconvenience the festival could have on local residents.
One of these measures includes stage direction and sound. “Although Plett Rage is hoping to be able to host the festival right in the middle of the town, we're doing our utmost to get the best sound and production suppliers to help us create an environment that is not only enjoyable for the festivalgoers but also make it bearable for residents.”
He added that they also plan on starting daytime entertainment and end the festival around midnight each night.
Plett Tourism has also thrown its weight behind the festival and its proposal. “It generates significant revenue for many businesses in the town, thus supporting many permanent and temporary jobs. It also is a marketing exercise to future generations of tourists,” Plett Tourism chair Peter Wallington said.
ARTICLE: YOLANDÉ STANDER, CORRESPONDENT
'We bring you the latest Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route news'
