Hout Bay Cape Town beach

Photo: PKS Guerin

An iconic Cape Town beach will be ‘LOWERED’ this week – here’s why

We haven’t seen an attempt to change a beach like this since NDZ rewrote the lockdown laws. But something *utterly* fascinating is taking place in Cape Town.

Hout Bay Cape Town beach

Photo: PKS Guerin

City officials have welcomed the start of a one-year project, which will see sand levels at a popular Cape Town beach get ‘lowered’. The stretch of sand in Hout Bay has become quite problematic for road users, and intervention is needed.

Cape Town beach set for ‘major overhaul’

Along the Promenade Road – which runs parallel to the beach – sand is often swept onto the tarmac in its droves, making driving conditions fairly difficult. The City Of Cape Town, however, has a cunning plan to get it all shifted…

“The City of Cape Town will commence with a trial intervention to address the challenge of windblown sand on Promenade Road in Hout Bay. The trial management intervention is starting today, on Monday 7 June 2021, and all of the immediate work will last for about a week – pending any unforeseen delays.” | City of Cape Town statement

Lowering Hout Bay beach – how will it work?

The process to essentially redesign the well-known Cape Town beach will be a slow and steady one, and it’ll need maintenance going forward. However, COCT representatives are confident they’ve got their calculations right. So, how exactly will engineers radically alter the Hout Bay seafront as we know it?

  • Machinery will be used to lower the sand levels on the eastern side of the beach.
  • This will result in increased grain size and a higher tidal reach.
  • It will also reduce the accumulation of windblown sand on the adjacent Promenade Road. 
  • All beach sand removed in the lowering will be pushed back into the sea.
  • Once the work is completed, the City of Cape Town will monitor Promenade Road for sand coverage.
  • The pilot scheme will be in place for a total of 12 months.

Hout Bay: City approves ‘pilot scheme’ for Cape Town beach

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoud, also made a statement on the matter. The senior politician is hopeful that the trial period will become a long-lasting success.

“The City will continuously monitor the accumulation of windblown sand on the road during the trial period, through winter and summer, to assess the success of the interventions. Given our natural environment, the City and its residents are exposed to harsh weather conditions and this project is aimed at keeping this road passable.”