Damaged facilities a drain on Margate
Margate beachfront is still a cause forconcern.
NOTHING has changed since the Margate whale deck was vandalised earlier this year.
And nowadays visitors (including those avid walkers and joggers) to the beachfront are wondering when the deck, and the broken and missing railings along Margate beachfront, will be repaired.
To add salt to the wound, the stairs leading down to Margate’s tidal pool have been trashed, making it virtually impossible to walk down to the pool.
In 2014, the Margate tidal pool was restored to its former glory after being nonfunctional for almost two decades.
Stephen and Pauline Smith of Shelly Beach, who enjoy walking along the beachfront, said that they are saddened by what they see. The couple, who have recently returned from a six-month stay in England, said they thought the broken deck and railings along the beachfront would have been repaired during their absence.
“It is embarrassing for us to invite friends from the UK to come to the beachfront when it looks like this, as this is not a good representation of our country,” said Stephen.
He pointed out that the company contracted to erect the fence and stairs should surely be asked to come back to maintain it.
The town relies on tourism and without it we can’t generate an income,- Stephen Smith
Ray Nkonyeni municipal spokesman, Simon April, assured everyone that the municipality would endeavour to ensure that, come the festive season, all the tatty fixtures would have been repaired.
Another worry is the Margate Olympic pool, which has been out of action for three months. Locals are deeply concerned that the pool won’t be repaired by the holiday season. An anonymous source told the Herald that no repairs had been done on the pool and as far as he was aware, no engineers had inspected the pool.
In response, Mr April said the records of the construction of the pool were a problem, as previously highlighted, as they cannot be found.
I am not sure where does the issue that it was supposed to be repaired by December is coming from, because what is important is to first find out what is the problem, and the investigations are still continuing – Simon April
He said that no miracle could fix it by December, but what he could indicate was that the municipality was doing its best to have it repaired.
To add to the many concerns, Sharon Pollock and her partner Mike Jones suffered a break-in at their business, Bambi Ice Cream Parlour, last Friday. Their frustrations were multiplied when they were unable to get any footage of the burglary, due to a computer fault at Margate‘s main camera room, which has been a problem for a long time.
Mr April said that, after some investigation, it was established that all cameras are fully operational and are being monitored.
He added that the only minor hiccup was that the computer needed to be serviced, which then had a bearing on the full functioning of the screen. However, the problem was being addressed.
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