From the Umhlanga Promenade and Village UIP Northern and Southern Promenade Properties and Park to Park 2010 Review. Partnership is central to the Urban Improvement Preinct (UIP) success: The UIP works closely with the municipality on a daily basis, strengthening relationships and integrating efforts to optimise service delivery. The UIP does not duplicate or replace municipal services, but rather provides supplementary services.
Municipal service delivery to public areas
Municipal faults reported – street lights out, damaged infrastructure, pot holes, etc. are reported daily to the municipality and followed up until completed. This ensures a refreshing experience of public areas, whether on the Promenade or in the Village. The UIP provides the secretarial function at a monthly municipal line department and stakeholder meeting, which is tasked with integrating services and resolving ongoing service delivery blockages.
On UIP motivation, the Municipality has provided the following services and infrastructure:
- Funded the cost of 8 additional UIP security officers over the World Cup
- New bollarding and grassing of Lagoon Drive and Lighthouse Road delivered at a significant cost to the municipality
- New external lights fitted at Durban View Toilets
- Upgrade of Millennium Stage lighting on the Promenade
- Indigenous tree planting on Lighthouse Road
- Replanting of post office embankment bordering on Lagoon Drive
- Agreement to install traffic calming measures for Marine Dr between Ocean Way and Durban View Park to be included in final portion of the promenade upgrade to be completed by November 2011 (UIP was one of a number of stakeholder groups motivating this request)
- Agreement on an informal management plan for traders on the Promenade
- Agreement of a bylaw signage plan for the Promenade and beach
- Agreement to enforce compliance with the municipal estate agent board regulations
Municipal planning: the UIP, on behalf of members and associated members, actively participates in the municipal planning forum to ensure that property owners’ interests are brought to the fore at a planning phase. A recent example of a UIP request is for iconic Umhlanga Welcome signage to be included with the M4 bridge upgrade.
The City is investing in Umhlanga – infrastructure upgrades and urban renewal is substantial and continuing:
- The final portion of the Promenade upgrade from the Lighthouse to Durban View Park, which includes two traffic calming measures on Marine Drive, is expected to be completed by November 2011.
- The M4 bridge is to be doubled and aesthetically upgraded to a dual carriage way in both directions with a pedestrian walkway.
- The remainder of McCausland Crescent will be upgraded and so too will the Lifesaving Club on the promenade.
Municipal upgrades and UIP role in municipal service delivery
Projects in progress.
UIP motivated Municipal projects:
- Matric week and December season management plan: security, aquatic safety, cleaning, maintenance and greening
- Promenade dune vegetation and grass area management plan
- Promenade and Village irrigation maintenance plan
- Beach usage management plan
- Northern Beaches / Hawaan Forest management plan
- Management plan for municipal recycling bins located in public areas
- Pollution and Environment Department location of illegal connections into the storm water system
- Upgrade informal trading facilities, in keeping with the Promenade upgrade for Lagoon Drive and McCausland traders
- Establish a maintenance plan for cleaning of sidewalk paving in the Village
- Motivating for improved cleaning of the M4 and replacement of Umhlanga M4 signage
- Solution to early morning taxi hooting
- Solution to taxi rank management
- Reduce the excessive plastic advertising bins prevalent in the precincts
- Reduce / eliminate pole advertising within the precincts
- Outdoor ashtrays for outside Village pavement restaurants
- Completion of McCausland Crescent upgrade
UIP projects
- Cleaning up of McCausland Crescent and eliminating drug dealing in the area
- UIP member and Associated Areas signage erected to indicate membership
- Lagoon Drive lawn dressing and upgrade in preparation for the December season
- Chartwell Drive planter box replanting in preparation for the December season
- Find solution to timeshare scratch-card agents operating in public space
- Establish legality of Oyster Harvesting from the Umhlanga coastline
- Identification and follow through on requests to private property owners for external boundary upgrades, including lighting, painting, general maintenance and daily operations e.g. waste bin management
- Improve frequency of UIP newsletters
Future Projects
- Establishing a website
- Establish an awards programme for municipal and UIP contract staff
- Expand the managed areas to include bordering areas
- Build a comprehensive library of municipal bylaws and develop an enforcement plan
- Develop a property owner / tenant Code of Conduct to assist with the management of boundaries on to public open space – to be approved by relevant municipal departments
- Develop a municipal supplier database for the upgraded areas to ensure continuity of maintenance efforts
- Development of an integrated sustainable Green Plan
- Declaration of a Marine Protected Area for the Umhlanga to Umdloti coastline
Reporting crime or suspect behaviour is essential
We need your reports Call: 086 111 2050
Emergency Numbers:
- UIP Emergency: 086 111 2050
- SAPF: 10111
- Metro Police and Emergency Services: 031 361 0000
Municipal Fault Reporting:
- Engineering Services: 080 131 3013
- Electrical Services: 080 131 3111
- Municipal Parks, Leisure & Cemeteries: 031 566 3712
2010 UIP Management Team:
UIP project leader Brian Wright: 083 324 3367; brian@urbanmgt.co.za
UIP security / operational manager Dewet Geldenhuys: 084 429 8523; dewetg@enforce.co.za
Source: Umhlanga Promenade and Village UIP Northern and Southern Promenade Properties and Park to Park 2010 Review.
2 Comments
What is not being mentioned is how UIP is actually damaging businesses in Umhlanga by prohibiting distribution of advertising material. Several businesses in the business district have complained where promoters were not permitted to enter the promenade and distribute flyers to sunbathers. In other cases such as car dealerships, they were not permitted to distribute flyers in the business district and in some cases had over R2200 worth of printed flyers confiscated. When approached by the Enforce team, you would’ve expected some courtesy shown to the very people who make it possible for them to exist in the first place. However, you are approached by rude and arrogant security who can’t even provide any reasonable explanation why a business is denied the right to advertise through flyers. Needless to say, many businesses are feeling the pinch having to resort to much costly forms of advertising. It’s just such a pity that something that is there to represent good, is slowly destroying the economic stability of some of the very businesses that make Umhlanga what it is. Let’s face it, without the companies there, it wouldn’t be what it is today.
It is wonderful news to hear that Enforce is enforcing the law. We do not need fly by day companies to litter our clean town with flyers. They should be fined for illegal advertising.
Yes, without the people Uhlanga would not be there today. The flyer litter bug, we do not need flyers to inform us of your specials, we know what we want and where to get it.