Property owners’ opinions about the future of the Hermanus Special Rating Area (HSRA) are being gauged in a new survey launched this month by Hermanus Public Protection (HPP).
The HSRA is mandated by its property owners, in accordance with policies and bylaws of the Overstrand Municipality (OM), to supplement the safety and cleaning services of the OM for a five-year period.
The current mandate ends on 30 July 2025. A project to secure an extension of the HSRA for a further five years has been launched by HPP, which is the management company of the HSRA. HPP is a non-profit company, managed by a board of directors, who act voluntarily.
The HSRA area extends from 17th Avenue, Voelklip in the east to Swartdam Road in the west and includes the industrial area. Each property owner within the HSRA pays a nominal monthly rate for HPP’s services as part of the municipal rates-and-taxes bill.
HPP was established in 2002 under the Community Improvement District (CID) bylaw to combat escalating “crime-and-grime” levels. In 2020 HPP was appointed the management body for the re-established Hermanus Special Rating Area, mandated to provide public-safety and cleaning services to supplement those provided by the Overstrand Municipality (OM).
HPP outsources the public-safety arm of the operation to Fidelity ADT, including foot, bicycle and vehicle patrols around the town, and a network of more than 100 CCTV cameras linked to a sophisticated control room. The cleaning aspect is outsourced to Iphupha for daily rubbish collection along the Hermanus Cliff Path.
The survey aims to help HPP understand:. If property owners and other related parties in the HSRA want the HSRA’s term to be extended for another five years.. If the answer to the above is “yes”, which municipal services they would like to be supplemented.. How much money property owners are willing to pay for these services.
Participation in this survey will be used to shape HPP’s motivation to the OM for the HSRA’s extension of term and to determine the future of the HSRA’s supplementary services to its community. The survey should take just a few minutes to complete.
Survey recipients are requested to complete it urgently, as soon as they receive it, and encourage their neighbours to do the same.
Requests for further information about the Term Extension Campaign can be sent to info@hpp.org.za. Please also visit the HPP website at https://hpp.org.za/ for information about HPP.