The new Beach Café is an example of a new development on the beachfront. Beach Café won the open bid when the lease for Circus Circus expired.

DURBAN’S beachfront will be undergoing a massive overhaul with buildings on the promenade being given a facelift and redeveloped. Over the past few years, changes have been made to improve the offering to visitors on the beachfront, ensuring that it remains a world-class facility. As tenant leases expire, the City follows proper processes to advertise for bids to develop new and interesting spaces and eateries. This forms an integral part of the City’s Proactive Land Release Strategy.

The strategy, adopted in September 2021, enables the Municipality to be proactive in alienating surplus land, assisting the City to achieve its developmental objectives, stimulate economic activity and black economic empowerment as well as promoting economic transformation in the property sector. Head of the Real Estate Unit Thapelo Mmusinyane explained: “In the period between May 2021 and November 2022, a total of 25 properties were advertised and 10 awards were made to new lessees.

All 10 awards were made to companies that are 100% owned by historically disadvantaged individuals. On the beachfront in particular, properties that have been affected are Circus Circus, Bike and Bean, and Minitown.” The historic building in which Joe Cools and other eateries are housed will be upgraded soon by a developer who will then sublet this space to suitable tenants. Mmusinyane assured the public that a fair, equitable, and transparent process was followed as stipulated in Section 14(5) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). “This section mandates that the disposal, including leasing of Municipal properties must adhere to principles of fairness, equity, transparency, and competitiveness in line with the City’s Supply Chain Management Policy (Section 111 of the MFMA). Renewing the leases without an open, competitive process would have violated these principles, as well as Section 217(1) of the Constitution, which upholds the same standards for public procurement. Therefore, lease renewals could not be granted without contravening the law,” he explained.