As Guy Fawkes Day looms, a reliable source has told TygerBurger the City of Cape Town plans to host fireworks at the same site in Table View as last year.
This follows a public statement by ward councillor Nicky Rheeder that Fire and Rescue Services officials have said the site, near the old tourism office, is not suitable as it does not comply with safety regulations.
However, TygerBurger’s source says a meeting was called with Law Enforcement’s auxiliary officers in Brackenfell last week where they were told the fireworks would be allowed along the same designated site at the Table View beachfront, and that officers were required to be on duty on Saturday 5 November.
Responding to these claims, City spokesperson Priya Reddy says: “The City is in the process of finalising the Table View fireworks site and will advise once the process is completed”.
Various fireworks reports tabled at the Blaauwberg Subcouncil meetings throughout 2015 list various criteria for a site to be deemed suitable.
According to the requirements, any designated fireworks site needs to be at least 100 metres away from homes or buildings, and 500 metres away from a petrol depot.
Residents have continuously cried foul over the designation of the site for the discharging of fireworks due to residential properties and a petrol filling station in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, the Table View Ratepayers Association (TVRA) conducted an online poll asking residents to have their say on whether or not the association should take legal action against the City.
Asked why this was done, TVRA chairperson, Mandy Da Matta, said the municipality is leaving the community no other choice as the City “goes against their own safety regulations”.
Read more on this story in the Table View and Milnerton editions of the TygerBurger tomorrow.
