HEADING into week three of lockdown, empty streets, public spaces and beaches devoid of people are now a common sight. While the greater population hunkers down at home to flatten the curve, essential services are working together with the Municipality and authorities, braving the frontline to ensure that the city remains safe, clean and ready for post lockdown economic recovery.
Managed precincts have become instrumental in the bid to attract and retain investment to metropoles throughout the country by providing, in collaboration with Municipalities, safe, clean and well-maintained places. It’s therefore fitting that their role in a time of so much economic uncertainty would be to protect those same business and property investments and ensure an enabling environment for communities to recover post Covid-19.
Since the lockdown announcement on 23 March, Precinct Management teams have been rallying to ensure that essential services continue to be delivered on the ground, which include maintaining the highest security standards, ensuring municipal infrastructure is protected and maintained, providing essential cleansing services, a 24 hour emergency helpline and keeping the public current with precinct news.
Precinct management company UrbanMGT manages some of KZN’s most prominent managed precincts including Florida Road Urban Improvement Precinct.
UrbanMGT’s CEO Brian Wright comments: “The Managed Precincts are not immune to the effects of Covid-19, with all towns and cities having been heavily impacted by physical distancing measures, business closures and community health implications. However, it is our duty to help our members, businesses and the public at large navigate the uncertainty of each day and to ensure that our precincts will be among the first to recover. This will then drive targeted investments to assist the economic recovery of the region and communities as a whole”.
He said interventions have included twice daily patrols by precinct management, skeleton cleaning teams to ensure the precincts remain spotlessly clean and reviewing budgets to contain costs, to ensure business continuity and resourcing to support recovery once the lockdown is lifted. “Only our security contingent remains as normal with a 24/7 presence and we are very pleased to report that we’ve received minor crime reports over the past two weeks.”
For their safety and well-being, all essential services staff have appropriate personal protection equipment and have been briefed on safe hygiene practices and social distancing. Precinct managers have consistently reported their precincts to be cleaner than ever.
Florida Road UIP
THE proactive Florida Road UIP continues to deliver sound precinct management and security to public areas while ensuring the UIP’s continuity post-lockdown
Precinct manager, Jarrod Evans, said with its on-the-ground Covid-19 response being to ensure that essential services continue within the Precinct, the Florida Road UIP has wasted no time working to minimise the impact of the lockdown on the Precinct and to safeguard business continuity post lockdown.
Looking ahead, the Florida Road UIP Board has reviewed the budget to find ways to contain costs should the lock-down be extended past the end of April. The aim is to save costs and ensure cash-flow sustainability while still achieving the UIP’s objectives – to optimally manage a crime-free, clean and well-maintained precinct which is ready for making up lost economic ground once the lockdown is over.
Evans said: “Reviewing the budget and containing costs where possible will help us ease the post lock-down economic strain ensuring we’re able to keep doing what we do best: Delivering essential services, protecting investor confidence and ensuring our precinct continues to be one of Durban’s most desirable locations to visit and do business.”
The Florida Road UIP hotline number continues to operate for crime and fault reporting. “As expected, the precinct’s streets have been quiet over the past two weeks. We’d like to remind our members and businesses to please ensure your security companies have connected with our 24-hour control room should there be a spike in crime in the coming weeks,” said Evans. Contact 086 111 6113.
