The demolition of the buildings razed by the devastating fire at St Francis Bay on Sunday night is expected to commence shortly.
Kouga Executive Mayo, Booi Koerat, said the municipality would be contacting affected property owners to advise them of the procedure they need to follow to obtain a demolition order for those structures that had been damaged beyond repair by the fire.
“It has been a very difficult time for the affected residents and property owners. As a Council, we would like to make it as easy as possible for them to address the damage to their property,” he said.
The Mayor explained that it was the responsibility of each property owner to contact their insurance to arrange for a structural engineers report on the fire-damaged buildings.
“This structural engineers report must then be attached to a formal demolition application, signed by the owner of the property, and submitted to our senior building inspector, Trevor de Groot, at our St Francis Bay office,” he said.
“The municipality will then issue a demolition order to the property owner based on the recommendations of the structural engineers report.”
The Mayor said the municipality would work closely with property owners to ensure that the demolition process was as “green” as possible.
“We want to avoid a situation where all rubble simply gets dumped at the waste site regardless of whether it can be used again or not. We would like to encourage property owners to re-use building material where possible or to make it available to other projects of their choice,” he said.
Demolition application forms are available from Trevor de Groot at the St Francis Bay municipal unit on 042 200 2252, email tdegroot@kouga.gov.za, fax 086 536 4064, or mail PO Box 137, St Francis Bay, 6312. Completed forms, accompanied by the structural engineers report, can also be submitted to him at the above fax, email or postal address.
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