The tourist-friendly location of the Strand market and the history of informal traders in the area set the stage for a prime opportunity to transform the newly upgraded market into a modern, vibrant, commercially sustainable business. The market space is located in the Strand Precinct on Beach Road and the draft Strand Informal Trading Plan proposes that it will consist of 70 trading bays.
A series of infrastructural upgrades took place in Strand during 2017, which included among others the reconfiguration and resurfacing of the parking areas, the realigning and upgrading of the sea wall, the redevelopment of the ablution facilities and offices and provision of space for an informal trading market.
In view of the fact that the traders who will be operating in the market area do not currently have a legal entity – representative of all traders – that would potentially contract with the City of Cape Town for management of the market, the City approached the SBID to consider and propose a management plan for the Strand Pavilion Trading Market. The task of the management body would be to ensure that the facilities are well maintained and that trading activities are managed optimally.
In its call for a proposal the City pointed out that it was a high priority to ensure that the market was well managed and that the space was safe, clean and inviting for customers to have fun and enjoy all that would be on offer.
It would be a priority to create a safe market environment through, amongst other things, monitoring compliance by not only traders, but also visitors with the rules of the market. Law enforcement officials would have to be involved in the event of any law infringements in the market. The City of Cape Town advises that the service provider may employ a combination of CID security and EPWP Unit City Law Enforcement Officers in order to ensure that the market would be safe and secure throughout the week.
In his message SBID chairperson Grant Goodwin said he was excited about the prospect of the intervention and wished Geocentric’s Gene Lohrentz and his team well with the process.
The current management of informal markets is based on the formulation of by-laws and policies, as well as trading plans and permit fees in some cases. Management is also based on the employment of district area cooridinators responsible for informal trading in specific regions.
The Strand Precint, which is a historic beach resort area that is popular with with tourists and locals alike, is home to many economic activities. Both recreational and small-scale fishers sell fesh fish directly to the public from the slipway. The area also includes a parking area, a hotel, offices, restaurants and public ablution facilities, as well as accommodating traders predominantly over weekends and during the summer season.
