Visitors to the Mariner’s Wharf side of Hout Bay beach will have seen a wall being built on the edge of the parking lot.
According to ward councillor Roberto Quintas, it will act as a sea wall and sand trap.
It is the latest development in the extensive beach rehabilitation and improvement project which began in earnest last year (“Moves on dune plan,” Sentinel, May 25).
“The first phases of the project saw the contouring and shaping of the new dune system, followed by the implementation of wind nets and landscaping of the coastal dune,” he said.
“The gabion walls will allow for further management of the wind- blown sand, as well as enhance the potential Hout Bay’s primary asset – it’s world class beach.”
A little further down Harbour Road, sections of the parking area are being paved and small walls and islands built.
Mr Quintas said he had ploughed a lot of his ward allocation into the project to encourage tourism spend and create jobs.
More was to come, he said, including lighting, paving, mosaics and the planting of water-wise, indigenous coastal plants. Once complete, the project would need continuing maintenance from wind-blown sand.
“This is a phenomenon of nature that no great planning can stop entirely, but one hopes that the work done by the City will not only mitigate this issue, but create a beachscape that will bring pride to our residents.”
The City will have spent R7.6 million on keeping Hout Bay’s dunes in check by the end of the current financial year.
The sum includes the removal of 3 000 truckloads of sand, using earth-moving equipment to re-
shape the dunes and nets, poles
and nursery materials to restore them.
