The connection of the Cliff Path at Pooles Bay is something that the action group and the residents have long fought for.
Hermanus Times published numerous stories about the controversy this connection has provoked.
According to Jobre Stassen, spokesperson of the Cliff Path Action Group (CPAG), they started in August 2018 to investigate the possibility of connecting the two parts of the current Cliff Path. “The iconic Hermanus Cliff Path follows the coastline for 11 km, stretching from the New Harbour to Grotto Beach,” she said, “except for an area almost in the middle of the total length of the path, where it sharply veers away from the sea and detours along the sidewalk of the dangerous, noisy and air-polluted R43/Main Road.”
The hard work, money spent and late nights were worth it and during the past five months the path has been constructed from both sides, east and west working towards the middle.
“Manual labour has been employed to move 140 cubes of concrete (47 truckloads) by wheelbarrow to construct the path,” said Stassen. “The concrete pathways are bordered by 240 m² of natural pebble gabions to protect the pathway from the erosive action of the sea. The team of ABC Civils conquered the rocky terrain using local labour over 20 000 man-hours to complete 510 m of concrete path.
“One of the conditions of the Environmental Authorisation (EA) is a construction period limited between February and June to accommodate the annual whale migration and bird breeding season.
“Construction commenced on 7 February and it was worth the wait. The construction area is not accessible by heavy machinery or any motorised vehicles, therefore a premium grade GRP (Glass Reinforced Polymer) product has been used on all the elevated sections,” Stassen said.
“The complexity of the rocky promontory made initial progress from the west extremely slow. Under guidance of principal agent and engineer André van der Merwe the team succeeded to secure western access to Pooles Bay forever.” Next building period
“The next building period is from February to June and the most challenging section will be at Baleen cliffs where the path will cross in the intertidal zone – being impacted by high tide on a daily basis.”
According to Stassen the path will continue along the coast of erf 6337, Bayview Apartments, involving CPAG as a third party in decisions of the past.
“Over years the public coastal area in front of Bayview has been privatised condoned by local authorities. It is an area of contention that needs to be resolved before the next building period commences. The new path will continue seaside of the cadastral boundary of Bayview in the most cost-effective and sensible way for the residents of Hermanus.”
