Pinelands councillor fights to keep area 'dry'

Pinelands status as a dry suburb is under threat from a major supermarket chain.

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit spoke to Ward 53 councillor Riad Davids about Checkers application for a liquor licence for a new store it is building there.

The paperwork is with the Western Cape Liquor Authority and residents have until early May to submit objections or even support for the move.

Davids said: "It's not about the consumption of alcohol, it's about the off-consumption of alcohol. The problem with off-consumption sales is that it brings a whole lot of social problems with it. And the biggest one is drinking within the parking lot where people consume alcohol when they can't take it home or they want to hide it from their parents.

"Pinelands High School is within 150-metres where the sale of alcohol is going to be and the school has written in opposition to it."

Pointing out that there are 116 wards in Cape Town and the second-last dry suburb was Fish Hoek, Davids read a note from that area's ward councillor, Izabel Sherry: "I am so saddened that Fish Hoek got liquor outlets, it's a major problem. The increase of rough sleepers and easy access to two bottle stores close to the main road and the station has created problems. The drinking and drugs go hand-in-hand and increasing the crime. My poor residents that shop at Pick 'n Pay get targeted on the way to the car. I would fight it for as long as you can."

Davids said Spar, Woolworths and Pick 'n Pay stores in Pinelands are honouring the area's dry status, which is not legislated but rather a tradition upheld by residents over the years.

He added that on-consumption of alcohol in restaurants and the area's tennis and social clubs, for example, are allowed.

According to iol.co.za, Checkers has said that `each application is subject to a formal regulatory process, which enables the authorities to assess it on its merits, taking into account local regulations and any public input received'.

To listen to the full discussion, click the media player above.