Umdloti fundraiser delivers results as beachfront repairs begin

Umdloti residents are seeing real results after a successful community fundraiser helped kickstart long-overdue beachfront repairs.

Generous donations to Umdloti Smart Village precinct manager Vicky Schnetler’s recent fundraising campaign are now being put to use, with work beginning last week on repairing dilapidated promenade fencing and collapsing beach staircases.

Last month, Schnetler (42) raised an impressive R110 000 by running the Balwin Sport Dolphin Coast Half Marathon, with the funds now being reinvested into the community she calls home.

“I am completely blown away. This is what community is all about,” Schnetler said about seeing the repairs take shape.

“A village can only thrive when we stand together, support one another and show up. Upwards and onwards!” she said.

Local contractor Gerhard van der Merwe explained that repairs will span from the southern end of the car park in front of the Umdloti Centre to the pump house at the northern boundary of The Village residential complex. All fencing poles in the car park have been removed, and vegetation has been cut back by one metre to allow for the fence to be replanted further from the kerb.

This, he says, is to prevent repeated damage caused by vehicles knocking the fencing with their bumpers while parking. The rickety old steps from the car park to the beach are being replaced with a sturdy flight of brick-and-mortar stairs.

Poles that still have some lifespan will be reused, while those that are beyond repair will be replaced. Fencing north of the car park, up to the pump house, will be straightened, realigned or repaired where necessary.

The beach staircase in front of Donnax Sierra has been warped and bent by prolonged exposure to the sun and salty air, to the extent that a beachgoer previously slipped and suffered a broken leg. This staircase will be rebuilt using materials better suited to withstand the elements, while others further along the promenade will be refurbished.

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