The City says the Hangberg civic centre needs repairs before it can be reopened.
It’s been six months since the City said it was working on a plan to reopen the vandalised Hangberg civic centre, but the venue remains closed with lingering questions over when the repairs will happen.
Earlier this year, mayoral committee member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross told the Sentinel that the recreation and parks department would appoint an engineer to “address the necessary repairs” and make the hall usable again (“Hangberg civic centre still in limbo,” Sentinel, May 10) after it had been occupied illegally for four years up until mid-February.
This week, Ms Van der Ross said a building assessment had been done, but she could not specify when that had happened.
“The current challenges to the facility still relate to the vandalism of the entire building and roof which require repairs.
“The repairs will be conducted in phases, and the exact dates can only be confirmed once a contractor has been appointed and the building will also be assessed for compliance before it can be reopened.“
The City was unable to confirm whether the repairs would happen this year.
Meanwhile, access to another municipal venue has been hamstrung by a booking glitch.
Hangberg community activist and Hout Bay Hurricanes Basketball Club chairman Roscoe Jacobs said he and others in the community had struggled to book the Hangberg Sports Centre.
“I’ve been trying since August to secure a booking at the facility,” he said, adding that he had had had to cancel an upcoming basketball tournament as a result.
“In regards to the bookings, the community is confused as to who the correct City officials are that we should contact to book the facility. Our basketball club has now been forced to cancel our second edition of the Cape Basketball Cup because we can’t secure confirmation from the City for the venue.
“We’ve also had sponsors pull out of this tournament recently as we can’t confirm if we can host the event at the centre. Now our young people have lost the opportunity to showcase their talent and possibly be scouted by university coaches.”
Ms Van der Ross said the City was aware of a problem with the booking system for the sports centre.
“The Hangberg Sports Centre has experienced issues with the filtering of emails to the official bookings email address, hence the delay. The recreation and parks department has since resolved the issue and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused,” she said.
Ward councillor Roberto Quintas did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
To book the Hangberg Sports Centre, email RPSouth.Bookings@capetown.gov.za or call 021 444 2668.
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