Spiros Beach staircases to be demolished
Desire Stalmann of Port Edward recently found herself in a predicament after she had built staircases at the beach without consulting the relevant department.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM) supports the KZN Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs’ (Edtea) decision to demolish illegally built staircases at Spiros Rock Beach in Port Edward.
The spokesperson for RNM, Simon April, said a joint site inspection was recently conducted by the municipality and Edtea.
Desire Stalmann of Port Edward recently found herself in a predicament after she had built staircases at the beach without consulting the relevant department or RNM.
Stalmann said she was just trying to help people to be able to walk down safely to the beach.
Also, she didn’t realise that she needed to get permission from the municipality.
April said that the inspection established that the steps were illegally built (without approval) and also built on the Admiralty Reserve, which then forced Edtea to issue a transgression notice and, therefore, has to be demolished.
He added that the reason in support of the demolition is that two sets of steps are built at least 50m apart, and therefore, they do not serve any purpose.
“The materials used are not environmentally friendly and are built on the Admiralty Reserve to provide access to a beach that is not designed for bathing or swimming. If this is allowed, the municipality runs a risk of setting a precedence where other such steps will be built,” said April.
He also mentioned that the Admiralty Reserve is a restricted area, and an Environmental Impact Assessment is needed before anything can be done in that area.
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