Open Plett space to park off

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Bitou Municipality has backed down amidst public pressure around an open space of municipal land that will now no longer be sold and will instead remain a park as the community desired.

Bitou Municipal Manager Mbulelo Memani told attendees of a meeting at the Plettenberg Bay Community Hall on Thursday 8 June that the controversial sale of the property that was earmarked for a Foodlover's Market store, will not go ahead.

He told an animated and lively meeting of about 200 residents that he will propose to Bitou Council that Erf 1725 B, commonly known as Jument Park, be retained as a park and designated a public open space.

He reiterated that, from the beginning, the land which was owned by the municipality, need not have been subjected to a public participation process, but that the municipality had launched such a participation process for the sake of transparency.

Steve Pattinson, chairman of the Plett Ratepayers said: "This is a victory for the community, It shows that at least the municipality is listening to the people."

Another one of the Ward 2 properties in contest, Erf 1725 A.

Pattinson has been active in trying to smooth the relationship between the Council and residents and said that this move could lead to a future of positive engagements between Ratepayers, the municipality and the council.

Voices were raised during the meeting as one ex-politician warned Mayor Dave Swart, in whose Ward 2 the meeting was called, that actions that did not consider the will of voters would be tested at the polls.

Memani said there were eight 'valid' objections relating to the flow of heavy vehicle traffic, waste management and issues of environmental management that needed to be explained.

He said he agreed with the objections and that the sale will not go ahead. Memani said a number of the 600 total objections received during the process had been personal attacks on him and had alleged 'so-called corruption'.

An issue which appeared to rile both Memani and Swart was the fact that when the initial notice was published, the Ratepayers Association urged members to send emails to the addresses of Memani and Swart, flooding their mailboxes which took three days to clear.

An aerial view of Jument Park.