Cape Town - The project to restore and maintain Cape Town’s iconic Muizenberg huts has received a hefty R3 million budget allocation to help it along its way to its former glory.
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced during his budget speech at last week’s council meeting, citing that the restoration of the popular huts was a positive step in its directive to restore and maintain Cape Town’s beloved attractions.
In his speech, Hill-Lewis said: “In line with our commitment to building a city in which we can all take pride, we have allocated R3m for the repair and refurbishment of the Muizenberg Beach huts, adding that the huts have long been an iconic image in Cape Town’s colourful landscape, and they are a postcard for Cape Town tourism.
“But they have fallen into terrible disrepair, and do not demonstrate the pride we are trying to build.”
There are about 63 huts along Muizenberg Beach, including the huts beside a popular tidal pool on St James Beach.
In 2020 residents, in partnership with businesses including major retailers and civic and civil society organisations launched a campaign to save and restore the beach huts.
The campaign “Save Our Huts trust” has so far managed to refurbish 5 of the 63 huts.
Speaking on the City’s decision to allocate funds for the initiative, Save Our Huts Founder Angel Gorman said that she was excited and thrilled about the new development.
She said: “I am so excited, I could hardly sleep the day I was told about this. The money will go a long way to see this project completed successfully.”
According to Gorman, the City will be taking over the restoration process of the huts. However, the trust will remain in the picture to oversee the project and ensure that it is completed according to its initial plans.
“We have to make sure that the huts will be restored the way we had planned. We have longevity in mind and we had planned and arranged to use sustainable materials so we want to make sure all that still happens. Otherwise, we are so happy,” Gorman said.
“The refurbishment of the huts has thus far been led by a group of residents who have run a fundraising campaign to save the huts and preserve this iconic Cape Town image.
“We are grateful for this kind of citizen-led pride in Cape Town and we are happy to be able to contribute to their refurbishment now,” Hill-Lewis said.
While speaking on the refurbishment of the Muizenberg huts, Hill-Lewis also spoke about the dilapidated state of the Strandfontein pavilion, saying that he was shocked by its condition.
He said: “Strandfontein pavilion is now officially a condemned building. We should not allow our public facilities to ever deteriorate to this point. Every resident deserves to be able to visit quality, beautiful public facilities that show Cape Town’s commitment to excellence and inclusivity.”
“So a relatively modest allocation in this budget is also one I am most excited about. We are going to rebuild the pavilion. When it is done, every plainsman and plainswoman will be able to enjoy a pavilion that they can feel proud of.
“We are starting 2022 with a major city-wide clean-up campaign, and I invite every Capetonian to join me on this campaign and do their part to keep Cape Town clean together,” Hill-Lewis said.