Date posted: February 5, 2016
Dear NeighboursNew Year’s greetings to everyone!
We can report two incidents in the last month. The first of these took place in the early hours of the New Year, when five intruders broke into a house in Monkey Valley and stole a number of items. They were spotted whilst making their escape but unfortunately not apprehended. Committee members have since had a very positive meeting with Management at Monkey Valley, who are in the process of upgrading their security measures and we look forward to a closer collaboration in the future.
The second incident took place on the evening of Friday 22 January when a suspicious vehicle was spotted by an alert NW member in Willow Rd. Two men were spotted leaving the vehicle and entering the dune area near the beach. A search ensued but they were not spotted. A number of signs suggested the vehicle was stolen and SAPS were notified. After examining the vehicle they left the area. In the meantime another report was received of a vehicle stolen from the Beach parking lot and it is assumed this was the work on one of the suspects spotted earlier. A phone in this vehicle was reportedly traced to the Blue Route Mall but we have not, thus far, received any further information on whether the vehicle was recovered. NW members and ADT continued to monitor the first vehicle and the alarm was raised when it was seen on the move. It was pursued and stopped on Noordhoek Main Rd close to the vet and the suspect narrowly avoided being apprehended. A large search ensued and the suspect again escaped after he was seen on Silvermine Rd later that night. The vehicle was finally taken away by SAPS and was indeed discovered to have been stolen. Although CPRT members were extremely rueful at the fact that two vehicle were stolen and there were so many near misses, we can be sure that the excellent community response will have again sent a strong message about the risks of committing this kind of crime in our area and we are hopeful that for a while at least, any further such attempts will be deterred. Many thanks to all who got involved!!
The other major events that everyone is no doubt highly aware of have been the fires in surrounding areas. We are very proud to have supported the development of a Fire Prevention and Response team in our area – thank you to everyone who has become involved! This is something that local authorities, at a meeting after the large Fishoek Fire, called on all NW’s to do. More comprehensive fire response plans are being developed and we have been promised further communication in this regard.
It would seem that there are multiple causes for the fires, with the hot and windy weather being key but arson, for a range of reasons, is clearly a factor. We thus urge everyone to keep a sharp eye out for any individuals acting suspiciously in areas that are at risk of burning and to make careful observations for a possible witness report (such as clothing, shoes, height etc), or even take photographs as there have been many rumours of possible arsonists there have been almost no helpful reports. It should also be noted that in some cases arsonists have used time-delay incendiary devices, so it may only be in retrospect that one links suspicious activity to a fire. Authorities have also made a plea that people take care to stay out of the way of emergency services when responding, or simply watching a fire and they have stressed that, although exciting to watch at close quarters, the activity of the helicopters, both when drawing and when dropping water can be extremely dangerous. We of course also urge everyone to ensure that your areas have a good firebreak and that fuel loads are kept to a minimum. Please report any sign of fire to the Fire Control Centre at: 021-590-1900.
Great news is that (after over a year of waiting) we have just signed a 10-year lease with the City on the old “standby quarters” (the last building on Avondrust opposite the Common) which we hope to develop as a NW Control Centre and a Community Hall. Our first step will be to work with all the Community Groups in Noordhoek to establish a representative management committee and then there will be lots of work to do in fixing it up but we have no doubt it is going to be a wonderful asset for us all. So please get ready to pitch in and help! Wishing you a safe February!
The CPNW Committee.
We have moved to Dunedin avenue and would like to register.
Hi Sarah, Please give us your address, and we’ll contact you.
Kind regards,
CPNW Ctte