St Francis Bay Groyne Project: Latest Update – When and Where

St Francis Bay Groyne Project: Latest Update – When and Where

St Francis Bay Groyne Project Update – a regular column where we dig a little deeper into what is happening with the groyne field project in St Francis Bay.

Our second column consists of further questions for Wayne Furphy, the Chairperson of the St Francis Property Owners Association and the SFPO Nonprofit Company.

There are five phases in total identified for the long-term coastal protection scheme. We understand that work will start with phases 1 and 2. When do you think phases 1 and 2 will be finished?

Phases 1 and 2 include three groynes. The construction of the first three groynes and the nourishment of the beaches on the Spit and Main Beach is expected to take 14 months. Construction of the groynes will commence first and should be finished within the first 3-6 months, whereas the sand nourishment will commence later, take longer and will be completed within the 14 months contract period. 

Where will the first groyne be positioned?

The first groyne will be positioned at the northern end of the Spit at the river mouth. The Environmental Authorisation specifies the order in which the groynes are constructed and the beach areas nourished with sand. Hence the phases 1 to 5, shown on the groyne field diagram.

Where is the sand going to come from?

The sand will come from the Kromme River. The areas from which sand will be taken have been identified. This required extensive environmental investigation and surveying the river, sampling and comparing the sand sample in the river to the sand found on the beach to ensure they are of a similar granular size.

How is that sand going to be transported to the beaches? 

The contractors bidding for this project will propose how they will transport the sand from the river to the beach. The most likely method will be dredging the sand from the river onto the beach. We are inviting contractors to offer other alternatives if they are cheaper and quicker.

See Wayne’s first interview here – Furphy Interview

See also: St Francis Property Owners Association

 

 

St Francis Bay Groyne Project: Latest Update – When and Where

St Francis Bay Groyne Project Update

A regular column where we dig a little deeper into what is happening with the groyne field project in St Francis Bay.

Our first column consists of some straightforward questions to Wayne Furphy, who is the Chairperson of the St Francis Property Owners Association and the SFPO Non Profit Company.

 Many questions have been floating around about the progress of the Long Term Coastal Protection Solution in St Francis Bay. Most of the questions pertain to whether we will actually see this groyne field project come to fruition, what the groynes will be constructed out of, and when we can expect the construction to start.  

SFT: Are we going to see the groynes being constructed? 

 WF: Groynes are used around the world to protect and preserve beaches. A groyne field consisting of six groynes forms the basis of our Long Term Coastal Protection Solution in St Francis Bay. The groynes will be constructed using rocks. We start with the two groynes on the Spit, then move to Anne Avenue where we construct the third groyne. We will then nourish the beach between the two groynes on the Spit, as well as Main Beach to the south of the Anne Avenue groyne.

When will construction begin?

WF: We expect to be ready to start construction in September this year. This will depend on (1) the price tendered falling within the cost estimates calculated by Worley (the Coastal Engineers who designed this solution) and the funds we have available at this point in time, and (2) the time required by the contractor to mobilise for this project, i.e. moving their equipment from their current location to St Francis Bay. We expect the construction of the three groynes and the sand nourishment on the Spit and Main Beach to take approximately 14 months. The remaining groynes and sand nourishment will be undertaken once we have additional funding available to do so.

The fundraising update can be found here

Some examples of groyne fields

Maputo

 

Lisbon

St Francis Bay Groyne Project

 

Local R20k Donation To Long Term Coastal Protection Project

Local R20k Donation To Long Term Coastal Protection Project

Wayne Furphy, Dr Gillian Adendorf, Lyn Aitken, Richard Fulford

Local R20k Donation

A big thank you to the contributors to the Camera 57 project in St Francis Village for a local R20k donation. They recently handed a cheque for just over R20 000.00 to Wayne Furphy (Chairman) and Lyn Aiken (Admin Manager) of the SFPO NPC for the Long Term Coastal Protection project. The contributors were represented by Yamaha SFB’s Richard Fulford and award-winning architect Dr Gillian Adendorf.

Camera 57

A few years ago, residents within this section of the Village were fed up with the spike in crime in the area. Assisted by SFPO Director responsible for the CCTV installation, Dave Truter and local security companies, the group raised money to fund camera 57 to provide round the clock surveillance on the corner of Ralph and Saxe Roads.

Much Appreciated Gesture

The project was oversubscribed, and the group agreed that the excess monies collected should be used for the beach restoration project, which will benefit all residents of St. Francis. This is a much-appreciated gesture!
For more details, go to the St Francis Property Owners Association website here
Long Term Coastal Protection Solution – Fundraising Update

Long Term Coastal Protection Solution – Fundraising Update

Fundraising Update

To accelerate the construction of the

“Long Term Coastal Protection Solution”

In St Francis Bay

(Restoration of our River, Spit and Beach)

February 2024

Introduction

The SFPO NPC appointed Advisian to design a Long Term Coastal Protection Solution for St Francis Bay in 2017, and completed the Preliminary Design in February 2018. This solution formed the basis of the application for the Environmental Application and its subsequent approval in April 2022. The SFPO NPC launched a fundraising drive in 2021 to accelerate the construction of the Long Term Coastal Protection Solution to restore our beach in St Francis Bay. 

We announced the fundraising drive at our AGM on 20 December 2023.

In terms of our EIA approval, we are required to have the funds available before we commence the construction of any phase.

Fundraising Update

Target – Rm

Total – R160m

Phases 1 & 2 – R110m

Phases 3, 4 and 5 – R50m

Raised to date (5 February 2024)

Total – R86.5m

Consisting of:

Existing cash – R34m

Riparians – R6m

River Comm/Estates – R2m

Donations – R5.5m

Loans – R39m

Still to be raised. 

Total required – R160m

Raised to date – R86.5m

Still required by Phase – R73.5m

Phases 1 & 2 – R23.5m

Phases 3, 4 & 5 – R50m

CONTRIBUTION OPTIONS

The Fundraising team have spent the past month, since the SFPO AGM, talking to many property owners about their participation in funding the acceleration of the Long Term Coastal Protection Solution. This interaction with property owners is ongoing, and we welcome participation and engagement from any property owners willing to support this fundraising initiative.

The quicker we can restore our beach, the sooner we will experience and enjoy the recreational value of our beaches once again, continued growth in the value of our properties, and reduction in the cost of maintaining the rock revetments currently defending the canals and many properties overlooking the beach.

PLEASE CONTACT:

Wayne Furphy:

ewayne@furphyventures.com

t.083-375-4517

Brett Dawson: 

ebrett@campan.co.za

t. 082-370-3306

Murray Stewart:

emurray@highstreetholdings.co.za

t. 082-372-1980

Garth Wright: 

e.  garth.wright@wrightsecurity.co.za

t. 082-800-2929

 

Click To Download The Updated Progress

 

St Francis Beach Update – Where We Are Right Now

St Francis Beach Update – Where We Are Right Now

St Francis Beach Update -St Francis Property Owners Association (SFPO) Special Ratings Area (SRA) Update, as published by St Francis Chronicle

The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the High Court Ruling, declaring the SRA and levy unlawful. Further, the judgment was received on December 1 2023. The SRA levy will continue to be collected going forward.

So, work on the Beach Restoration Project officially restarted on December 5, 2023, leading to the construction of Phases 1 and possibly 2 (if we have sufficient funding) in 2024.

WHY THE SRA

The SRA was proposed for the following reasons:

Restoring our property investments requires restoring our river, spit, beach, roads, and security.

Our Municipality had neither the financial nor political will to restore our infrastructure.

We decided to do something ourselves rather than do nothing. 

88% of all votes received were in favour of the SRA

The SRA was approved by the Municipality and started on July 1 2018.

SFPO NPC and the Municipality are working in the spirit of a Public/Private Partnership. 

Current Status: 2024

Investor confidence restored in St Francis Bay.

Also, an unprecedented demand for holiday and permanent residential properties has continued in St Francis Bay.

The construction boom continues in the greater St Francis area.

Santareme (Santareme, St Francis-on-Sea, the Port and Otters Landing) property values have followed the upward trend of the Village, Canals and The Links.

St Francis is one of the few South African towns experiencing this level of property investor interest.

This didn’t happen by mistake. It is a direct consequence of the confidence that existing and new property owners have in the future of our town, enabled by a well-run DA Municipality, and the clear and visible benefits that our SRA has delivered for restoring our security, roads and beach.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Long-Term Coastal Protection Solution.

Work planned for 2024:

We have commenced with the implementation of this project. 

Step 1 is the preparation phase, from December 2023 to March 2024.

Step 2 is the construction phase, running from April/May 2024 for 4-8 months, depending on a timely tender process and contractor availability.

St Francis Beach Update: Work completed to date:

Advisian completed the preliminary design for the long-term coastal protection solution (i.e., Groynes and Sand Nourishment) in 2018.

The EIA for Long Term Coastal Protection Solution was approved by DEDEAT (07/04/2022).

The multiple breaches of the Spit have demonstrated the need for our Long Term Coastal Protection Solution, i.e., to restore our 2.7 km of beach from the Kromme River mouth to Main Beach. This beach is vital to the long-term well-being of St Francis Bay.

Completion of the Emergency revetment for the Spit by KLM:

The Emergency revetment provides a short to medium-term (3-5 years) protection solution. Further, none of the revetments offer a long-term solution as the beach erodes, and property owners and KLM continue paying to repair these revetments. 

For more information, please go to www.stfrancispropertyowners.com

Contact details:

Telephone: 042 294 0594

Email: info@sfpo.co.za

Physical Address: (Office): 9 Philippa Place, St Francis Bay,

Postal Address: PO Box 18, St Francis Bay, 6312

 

See also: Elke M Update

 

The SFPO Association and the SFPO Non Profit Company AGMs

The Annual General Meetings of the SFPO Association followed by the SFPO Non Profit Company took place at St Francis Links on Wednesday evening.

Both meetings were very well supported by both St Francis Bay property owners and representatives of Kouga Local Municipality including Executive Mayor Hattingh Bornman, Municipal Manager Charl du Plessis, Ward 12 Councilor Lorraine Maree and PR Councilor responsible for Planning & Development, Shena Ruth.

SFPO Chairman, Wayne Furphy gave presentations on the past year’s projects for both organisations, with the focus on the commencement of the Long Term Coastal Protection Plan in 2024.  He thanked the community of St Francis Bay for their ongoing support and added thanks to the Municipality for their commitment to the implementation of the plan to restore our beach, river and spit as well as resolving the issues around service delivery and improving our roads infrastructure.

The meetings closed with well wishes to all for a happy and safe holiday season, and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024.

The presentations and minutes of both meetings with voting results will be available at www.stfrancispropertyowners.com

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