PBRPA September 2022 Newsletter

The good news is that all the roads in Pearly Beach have now been tarred! The Ratepayers’ Association has requested that the parking area at Castle Beach also be tarred.

The management committee of the PBRPA, has proposed closing the Esplanade between (Erven 332 and 162) to motor vehicles. This section would then only be accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. Should you approve or object to this proposal, please forward your comments to me at (shirdu@vodamail.co.za). Please note that the road will not be de-registered, but could allow vehicle access in the future if required.

Integrated Development Plan

The Integrated Development Plan (IDP) which contains the requests of the community for items that the Municipality should provide over a five-year period is currently being debated. The IDP then informs the budget that in turn funds the requests contained in the IDP. The Municipality is currently in the process of compiling the IDP for the five-year period, starting on 1 July 2023.

The following items have been submitted.

• Satellite Police Station 
• A garage to house the NW fire truck
• A generator for water supply during load shedding
• Tarring of the parking area at Castle Beach

If there are any other items that the community would like to see included in the IDP, either of a capital or an operational nature, these should be forwarded to our Ward Councillor Steven Fourie at blomrug@gmail.com before the public ward 11 committee meeting scheduled for 21 September 2022, takes place.

CCTV Policy

The municipal CCTV Policy has now been approved by Council, which means that the cameras planned for Pearly Beach can now be installed. 

In essence, what the CCTV Policy means for property owners is the following:

• If you erect a camera on your property, that only scans your own property, no registration is required on your part.
• If you have a camera on your property that scans a public road or public space, and you do not want it linked to the municipal camera network, you need only register the GPS coordinates with the municipality.
• If you wish to have your camera included in the municipal network, or if it is mounted on public property, a full registration application must be submitted to the Overstrand municipality.

Drop Off Zone

Residents, property owners and holidaymakers are once again requested to only place their household refuse out on the sidewalk on collection day. In Pearly Beach, this is on a Monday morning after 7 am. Failure to observe the bylaw will result in the issuing of an R3500 fine. 

To assist visitors, we have arranged that the drop-off zone be open on Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm.

The drop-off zone is now closed on a Wednesday, but wheelie bins are placed outside the gate for bagged refuse. Please do not dump loose garden refuse outside the gate, as this too will carry an illegal dumping fine and will be monitored by municipal Law Enforcement.

Blue Water Bay Boat Launching Site

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment are currently reviewing the boat launching sites along the South African coast. We have requested that Blue Water Bay remains listed as a boat launching site. However, we have been informed that while they support our view, no services or access control will be provided by the municipality. 

Kitty Killer

Your beautiful feline friend is responsible for more wildlife deaths than you think. A Cape Town study shows one cat kills between 59 and 123 animals per year. Even more deaths occur in a village like Pearly Beach because we are surrounded by nature reserves and have plenty of open green spaces. 

You may say “not my cat” but the study shows only 18% of killed animals are returned to your home - so 82% are killed outside your garden.

Worldwide domestic cats have been implicated in the extinction of 26% of the world’s bird, mammal and reptile species and contributed to a further 25% of animals categorized as threatened. 

Please reduce the death rate by placing a collar with a bell on your cat. This will help birds and small mammals receive early detection.

Source: Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas

Newsletter created by: Shirley Coetzee, Ward 11 PBRPA Representative, Chairperson