AT ST GEORGE’S PARK, from the cemetery, to the tennis club and tennis lawn, a non-profit organisation has been going around cleaning up these spaces, in an effort to restore these facilities to their former glory.
The Walmer Renewal Association was established in 2019 and focuses on the maintenance and beautification of public spaces in Ward 3. The association monitors public infrastructure issues, such as lack of cleaning, road marking, and non-functioning street lights.
Working closing with ward councillor, David Hayselden, residents and certain businesses, the organisation was started when service delivery hit an all-time low, explains Ross Dakin from the association.
He said that the goal of the NPO is to hold the municipality accountable, but would augment service delivery in public areas in the ward where the municipality is unable to provide services to improve public spaces.
They are currently still busy cleaning up St George’s Park in sections, in partnership with MES Shelter and a contracted tree felling firm.
“We are also cleaning up the historical St George’s Park cemetery and surrounds, and this has been an ongoing project for weeks now.
“The entire St George’s Park requires significant tree trimming and restoring of garden beds, as well as maintenance to paths and features and it appears that the department in charge of it is overwhelmed,” said Dakin.
“To get the ball rolling, we initiated this project because before photographs reflected a decayed sad state of affairs.
“The after photographs reflect the cemetery cleared of vagrant structures and restored to a heritage asset for tourists to visit.”
Residents can get involved by providing labour for cleaning of litter, and fine touches to projects such as weed clearing.
Alternatively, they can join the organisation by paying an annual fee of R600.
“Certain firms provide materials at cost or donate to the association and often render their services at no cost. A building contractor, paving firm, materials supplier and landscape designer have assisted us greatly. Some firms choose to make a cash donation to the association, as they are encouraged by the improvement they witness,” he said.
Dakin believes that the projects they do benefit the community greatly and referred to the Walmer Kiddies’ Traffic Park that was refurbished, and is once again being utilised by families on a daily basis.
“Another example is the Walmer Town Hall surrounds upgrade and maintenance plan, which has resulted in increased use for events and market purposes. The marking of roads and traffic circles on the streets of upper Walmer has also resulted in safer roads in the area, with clear signage.”
He explained that the organisation had already identified challenges in these areas during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
“After hard lockdown our volunteers and small team of workers removed some 100 black bags of litter. A clean-up of the vegetation and surrounds at the St George’s Art Gallery resulted in an immediate improvement, before handing it back to the Parks Department.
“Recently, in collaboration with volunteers, SAPS, Fidelity ADT, Atlas Security and EP Waste Removal, we removed all vagrants from the former Park Drive Tennis building which has since been temporarily secured to prevent access.
“EP Cricket is another roleplayer that has initiated similar actions relating to the former Park Drive Bowling facilities to protect the buildings and surrounds on the southern side of the park,” said Dakin.
He made an appeal to St George’s Park residents and corporates to get involved, especially since the organisation has to date been funded by Walmer residents.
“Funding will enable further initiatives to take place in the park and surrounds.”
Anyone willing to assist can contact Dakin on 060 982 7309.
