[imagesource: The Brass Bell]

I’ve spent many a Saturday afternoon knocking back drinks and watching the waves crash against the walls of the Brass Bell in Kalk Bay.

Judging by the fact that it seems to expand in size every time I visit, I’m not alone on that front.

Built in 1939 as a council-run ‘Tea Room’, according to the website, you’re now looking at “an impressive series of nine different dining and events venues”.

However, the latest expansion has been met with serious pushback from residents, leading to an intervention from the City of Cape Town.

Brass Bell owner Tony White had planned to build a wooden deck over a beach area close to the tidal pools, but that has been halted.

It’s a case of residents one, Brass Bell zero, as The Daily Maverick reports:

“I do not intend at this stage to proceed with the small wooden platform,” Brass Bell owner Tony White told Daily Maverick on Tuesday.

White began construction last month on an intended 3x7m wooden deck to “enhance the experience of patrons to the Brass Bell” by providing them with an area to sunbathe without getting covered in sand. The area had already been cleared and eight concrete footings installed on the beach when Daily Maverick visited on 31 March.

Image: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach

White’s expansion of the restaurant’s premises into the public space sparked an outcry from Kalk Bay residents, who called for an end to the construction that would expand the deck over a large area surrounding the children’s tidal pool…

The land is owned by Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa] and is leased to the Brass Bell for commercial purposes.

Multiple protests took place at the restaurant, the City carried out a site inspection, and White was served notice to cease building work.

Before that can resume, plans will need to be submitted to the City’s Development Management Department.

Image: Natasha Bezuidenhout

There does seem to be a breakdown in communication between White and Cape Town deputy mayor, Eddie Andrews, over what happens next.

Andrews says White has been instructed to “excavate and remove the eight concrete footings that he installed on the beach”.

White disagrees, telling The Daily Maverick, “I have not been requested to excavate and remove the concrete.”

Whatever the case, this is a victory for residents who were enraged at what is the latest in a long line of clashes with Brass Bell ownership and management.

You can find a breakdown of those incidents, spanning from 2012 through to today, here.

[source:dailymaverick]