With a very busy, hot and windy summer, the iconic Eden on the Bay lawn has borne the brunt of the festive season, but the Big Bay Master Property Owners Association (BBMPOA) is determined to rejuvenate the area this year.
With a very busy, hot and windy summer, the iconic Eden on the Bay lawn has borne the brunt of the festive season, but the Big Bay Master Property Owners Association (BBMPOA) is determined to rejuvenate the area this year.
“Management and our landscaping team have been hard at work minimising the impact,” it pointed out in a statement, “and have put a plan in place for 2024 to rejuvenate the area.”
The BBMPOA stated it was difficult for its landscaping and maintenance team to do meaningful work on the lawn over this period due to the large number of people in the area at the time, who had unlimited access.
“We have also faced certain challenges, including pump failure, a large amount of foot traffic (occasionally vehicles too), structures and umbrellas being erected, grass being pulled up along with the irrigation, holes dug, ashtrays and rocks moved onto the lawn area, outright vandalism.
“Also, many instances of the irrigation system being tampered with, hundreds of cigarette butts discarded on the grass and just a general disregard for the rules of the lawn area.”
Actions in place
Over the festive season the teams had actions in place such as daily irrigation checks, additional watering of areas that had less foot traffic and working in partnership with their security team. They tried to ensure everyone adhered to the rules regarding setting up structures, piling of rocks and playing sports on the lawn, all of which are prohibited.
“We give thanks to our dedicated team for working long hours, often until 20:00 over weekends, holidays, Christmas and New Year to keep the area clean, tidy and safe for all to enjoy. With peak season just about over our team can now get back to work and endeavour to rehabilitate and treat the grass.”
The BBMPOA is an umbrella body with members registered owners of all erven comprising the Big Bay Development.
Its existence was a requirement from the local authority to provide a mechanism to make funds available for the upkeep and maintenance of public areas and for funding additional services as required by the property owners (eg dedicated security patrols).
The plan
Rehabilitation will start by cordoning areas off to bounce back, aerate and apply a natural fertiliser.
“We kindly ask you to respect the demarcated areas and keep off the grass,” the BBMPOA said.
Additional scheduled activities include getting the water used for irrigation tested as well as performing a soil sample analysis to ascertain what the lawn currently needs, and the best way to get it back to being healthy and happy.
“The City of Cape Town will assist with some extra services to assist us in the rehabilitation, and perform certain processes to ensure that the grass is given the best opportunity to flourish in the upcoming weeks and months.
“Rest assured the team and the BBMPOA, Eden on the Bay and our partners are all working tirelessly towards a beautiful and green Eden lawn.”
