Relocation of Wharf Street Pump Station

PARRA was contacted by some of the business owners along Wharf Street who are concerned about the moving of the existing Wharf Street Pump Station from its current location, down to a new location next to the RO Water Plant.

The current Wharf Street Pump Station has caused many problems and we have been advised, that in order to deal with modern demands of the growing town and water needs, it has been deemed necessary to relocate this Pump Station.

We contacted Director Vithi (the Head of Infrastructure at Ndlambe Municipality) to ascertain how this construction project will affect the businesses along Wharf Street. Informal discussions have been had with the Dr Vithi on 1 & 3 August 2022. It would seem that there are issues/assumptions being discussed informally around town and we have asked the Department to please issue a formal notice/communication to set out the plans so that everyone is in a better position to understand the project and its impact. Due to our commitment to transparency, we formally addressed correspondence to the Director outlining the request for information and further details.

Please see our emails below:

From: Lindsay Luppnow <lindsay.luppnow@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: Relocation of Wharf Street Pump Station

Date: 17 August 2022 at 08:45:11 SAST

To: Noluthando Vithi <nvithi@ndlambe.gov.za>

Cc: Chair <chair@parra.org.za>, Georgina Nkombisa <gnkombisa@ndlambe.gov.za>, Sipho Babama <sbabama@ndlambe.gov.za>, Clinton Millard <clinton@multisecurity.co.za>

Good morning Dr Vithi

I hope you are well.

Just following up on this email, if you have had a chance to address any of these queries as of yet?

Thanks in advance.

Have a good day.

Regards 

Lindsay

PARRA – Vice-Chair

On 10 Aug 2022, at 15:21, Lindsay Luppnow <lindsay.luppnow@gmail.com> wrote:

Good day Dr Vithi

I trust you are well.

I refer to our conversations on 1 & 3 August 2022 regarding the relocation of the Wharf Street Pump Station. I have CC’d Mr Millard into this email as well as he represents the Port Alfred Business Forum.

As mentioned, many of the business owners and building owners have been informed that there will be construction which will occur in Wharf Street as the pump station is relocated from its existing location to further down the road, near the RO Plant. This has raised many concerns from their side as to the impact this will have on traffic flow and their businesses.

They have contacted us out of concern and would like to find out more information regarding:

1. Plans for the project;
2. Impact on traffic flow and access down the street;
3. Environmental impact;
4. Historical impact i.e. there is apparently a historical pipeline which runs from the Wharf Street Brewery underground, we cannot confirm this;
5. Have alternative routes and options been considered;
6. Approvals; and
7. Timelines.

As you can imagine there is a great deal of anxiety from these business owners. PARRA has advised that we do not have sufficient details and as per our conversation you have confirmed that further information will be provided in due course.

If you can please assist us with the necessary information for these concerned business owners and residents?

Regards

Lindsay Luppnow Burrow

PARRA Vice-Chair

We confirm that to date we have not had a response, however did follow up on 17 August 2022 requesting information and shall continue to monitor this. The Director has assured us that there are still things which need to be finalised before issuing any formal statement and that she requests patience from the residents/business owners while things are still not finalised.