CAPE TOWN – Road access improvements and upcoming work phases took centre stage at the latest community meeting on the current upgrades underway on Muizenberg Beach.

The meeting was held at the Muizenberg Civic Centre on Wednesday 22 April.

Residents, business owners and community members attended the session, where the City of Cape Town’s project team outlined the latest developments in the Muizenberg beachfront upgrade and responded to questions from the public.

Road access

A key update shared at the meeting was the reopening of the north-eastern access to the Prasa platform, restoring an important connection between the beachfront and public transport.

Providing an overview of progress, the City’s deputy mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, Eddie Andrews, said construction is advancing steadily across multiple work areas.

“Excavations and the preparation for the placement of precast concrete units for the stepped revetment and promenade walkway are currently underway,” he said, noting that this includes both backfilling and installation of the units.

NGO relocates

He added that work on the universal access ramp is also progressing, with formwork and reinforcement currently in place.

As part of site adjustments, non-governmental organisation (NGO) Waves for Change has relocated to a new premises on the western side of the beachfront.

Stormwater upgrades were also highlighted during the meeting.

Andrews said the existing drainage system is being redirected into improved pipework to better manage surface water along the beachfront.

In the central section at the beach, preparations are underway for new ablution facilities and related services, which form part of the broader upgrade to public amenities.

“Most of the work is currently happening on the western side and central section of the beachfront. However, all visitors still have access to the surf,” he said.

Looking ahead, Andrews said paving for the first portion of the western parking area will begin soon but could not confirm an exact date.

However, some parking bays adjacent to ongoing crane operations will remain temporarily closed for safety reasons.

The next community meeting is set to take place in June with no confirmed date determined yet.

Construction background

The refurbishment project, which began in February last year, aims to replace ageing seawalls and deliver major upgrades to public amenities.

The project is being implemented in phases over a two-year period. The first phase commenced on the western side of Surfer’s Corner, next to the railway line.

This year the initiative has now reached a critical stage requiring the fencing off of large sections of the beachfront for public safety.

A large crane was installed at Surfer’s Corner to place concrete precast units for the new promenade walkway, resulting in the closure of nine parking bays for approximately three months.

So far about 15% of the concrete precast units have already been placed and the contractor is expected to start dismantling four beach huts on the western side of the beachfront next week, while the huts on the eastern side were scheduled for removal by mid-year.

Beach huts

The decision to erect new huts results from public consultations, which determined that the current huts would not be the same after their dismantling, storing and reconstruction, so replacing them was the more sensible practical option.

At the time Beach Hut Trust (BHT) spokesperson Angela Gorma said: “The City has confirmed that the eight existing iconic huts will be replaced with eight new huts, carefully designed to match the historic look, patterns and colours of the originals, so their familiar character is retained.

“The new huts will be relocated further towards the central plaza area, where they’ll provide additional wind shelter for central shower facilities. In February this year, the BHT retrenched three operational staff positions as Muizenberg’s iconic beachfront refurbishment project entered its active phase, while the City of Cape Town moves to reassure the public about the future of the historic beach huts. It confirmed that operational adjustments became necessary due to significantly reduced day-to-day activities during the rebuild period.

Residents can access project updates through information boards at the beachfront, QR codes, or by emailing muizenberg@chand.co.za.

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