This is the first edition of our BeachBRIEF which will be issued on a regular basis in order to keep you updated on the progress on “Saving Our Beach". This is part of the regular communication between the SFB Beach Trust and the wider SFB Community, some of who do not have internet access and are therefore, not always fully informed on the on-going progress on the project.

Formal Registration of SFB Beach Trust
The St Francis Bay Beach Trust was registered on 29 March, 2006. The first Trustees are Antony Ball, Pat Kelly and Emlyn Horne. We also wish to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Rushmere Noach who registered the Beach Trust as a service to the SFB Community. RF Gibson and Co (Chartered Accountants) have also recently been appointed as Auditors to the SFB Beach Trust on a similar basis.

Meeting with the National Minister: 19 April, 2006
Pat Kelly and Alan Tonkin met with the Minister of Tourism & Environmental Affairs at his office in Pretoria on 19 April, 2006. The Trust provided the Minister with a detailed PowerPoint Presentation on CD plus a further detailed report which provided the broad strategy of saving jobs in Greater St Francis linked to “Saving Our Beach”.

The Minister was very supportive of the Beach Trust’s approach and undertook to visit St Francis Bay and Chair a Meeting with the MEC for Economic Affairs, Environmental Affairs & Tourism for the Eastern Cape, the Mayor of Kouga and the Beach Trust to move the process forward. The full presentation to the Minister is available on our website www.stfrancisbay.org under Beach Project.

Meeting with Integrated Coastal Management Unit
In addition, the Beach Trust also had a meeting in St Francis Bay with Dr Niel Malan, Deputy Director of the Integrated Coastal Management Unit of the Department of the Environment and Tourism in Cape Town. This Unit is part of the National Department of the Environment & Tourism and the meeting in SFB on 10 May, 2006, was as a direct result of our earlier meeting with the Minister in Pretoria on 19 April, 2006.

ASR Report & Public Meeting: 17 May, 2006
Dr Shaw Mead from ASR in New Zealand visited St Francis Bay from 15 to 17 May, 2006 to provide a report back to the Beach Trust. At this stage there are a number of options which require further consideration in terms of taking the project to the next phase.

In addition, on Wednesday, 17 May, 2006 there was a Public Meeting in the Village Hall where Dr Mead presented the findings from the ASR Draft Report. This covered the data collection phase of the investigation and provides the scientific foundation for the Beach Project. Further details on the ASR Report to the SFB Beach Trust will shortly be available on our website www.stfrancisbay.org under Home Page in the scrolling box.

Phase 2 - Design: June – December, 2006
The next phase of the modelling and design for the project will allow us to prepare precise costs for the public. At this stage we are planning to commence this with ASR in June, 2006 once the various options have been considered in more detail. It is anticipated that this part of the process will be completed by late 2006.

Following the detailed design and modelling by ASR there will be a further Public Meeting towards the end of 2006 in order to consider the detailed planning options as well as the costs of construction. This meeting will provide the opportunity for all residents to be fully informed on progress as well as on the way forward in terms of construction costs and how these can be funded from early 2007.

In addition, the SFB Beach Trust will also be providing a full report back on the details of the reef/s as well as firm costs at the AGM of the SFB Residents Association to be held on 28 December, 2006.

Funding
The Beach Trust has raised sufficient funds to cover the first phase of the project which is now almost complete. This is entirely due to the very generous support received by the Trust from our supporters. However, we wish to stress to all residents that the only way the SFB Beach will be rehabilitated will be through the efforts of those who own property in the Village. Both the Kouga Council and Province have other more pressing priorities and we need to take responsibility for our own environment.

We still require additional funds to complete the design phase and are looking to our supporters in the SFB community for this. It was made very clear to the Minister at our Meeting in Pretoria that the SFB community are committed to complete this task.

In concluding, the SFB Beach Trust believes that the submerged reef option as contained in the Draft ASR Report is both feasible and affordable. The estimated costs of this project are less than 25% of the estimated costs of the groyne option previously put forward. In addition, it provides St Francis Bay with the best possible approach from an integrated environmental perspective to resolving this long outstanding issue.

SFB Beach Trust Clothing
We now have a full range of SFB Beach Trust clothing available to purchase. For further information visit the section New Products for more detail on the full range of items plus pricing. Alternatively, call us on 042 294 1092 for further details on how to purchase these products.

For further information on the Beach Project call us on 042 294 1092. We look forward to your support in this innovative project in “Saving Our Beach.”

Alan Tonkin
St Francis Bay Beach Trust
May, 2006