A shed and an old pump house on railway land at Simon’s Town’s Makriel Beach have been demolished.
Some had voiced concern to the Echo that the structures were historic “fisherman’s cottages”, but the former chairman of the Simon’s Town Historical Society, David Erickson, said the structures had no historical significance.
The shed had been built by trek fishermen – with the permission of the City of Cape Town – to store fishing gear.
Also on the property – owned by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) – had been an old pump house for the Marine Oil factory siding.
Mr Erickson said vagrants had moved into the structures in recent years and their had
been complaints from the public about aggressive behaviour, litter and fouling of the environment.
“Demolition was the only resolution to the reported problems,” he said.
Ward councillor Simon Liell-Cock said the demolition was a relief because the occupants had become a thorn in the side of SAPS and the community.
The fisherman who had been granted permission to build the shed, he said, had lost his permit to fish from Makriel Beach a few years ago and had since died.
The fisherman had allowed people to live on the property to look after his gear, but over time a criminal element had moved in.
Prasa senior facilities
manager Kaparo Molefi said the structures had been demolished following a lengthy process to remove the vagrants who had occupied them illegally.
The structures had been found to be unsafe in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, he said.
Furthermore the property was zoned for transport and
housing was not permitted on it, he said.
Simon’s Town police spokeswoman, Captain Teresa Nel, said three arrests for possession of drugs were made in December 2018. She said she was aware of other complaints although no formal cases were opened with
police.
