Are Muizenberg’s iconic beach huts facing their end?

Muizenberg beach huts: What’s to become of them?

Many Capetonians and South Africans have been concerned about the fate of Muizenberg’s famous beach huts, especially after false information circulated on social media recently.

To assuage anxious citizens, the City of Cape Town (CoCT) released a statement to address how exactly the Muizenberg beachfront upgrade project will affect the famous, colourful beach huts.

The City recently confirmed that the eight beach huts on the beachfront will indeed be removed, but will then be replaced with eight new huts that match the existing huts like-for-like.

“The City wants to reiterate: where existing buildings are refurbished or demolished, these will be rebuilt in a style similar to the existing buildings to ensure we retain the heritage value, look and feel of Muizenberg” CoCT said in a statement.

What’s planned for the huts

According to the City, the eight existing huts will be replaced with eight new huts that match the eaxct historic design, colours and pattern.

The existing beach huts will also be removed from their current location as the new upgraded promenade will be further inland. They will only be moved back by two metres.

The reason why the huts need to be moved back is in response to the impact of climate change, which include rising sea levels and storm surges.

The beach huts will need to be dismantled in order to be moved, and are likely to be damaged during the process. This is also the reason why new like-for-like huts will be built to replace them.

The Muizenberg beachfront refurbishment project, which kicked off last week, entails major upgrades to the area. The upgrades are being implemented in phases over a two-year period.