With Guy Fawks and festive season celebrations nearing, the City of Cape Town says it is bracing itself. City officials have designated 12 sites for discharging of fireworks during Sundays’ Guy Fawks festivities and New Year’s Eve celebrations. Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, has urged the the public to practice caution when discharging fireworks and to respect the rights of others who do not share their enthusiasm for the tradition. Smith further appealed to pet owners to keep their animals indoors as far as possible.

“It is a concern that Guy Fawkes is on a Sunday this year, which means that there could potentially be an increase in the number of complaints from the public about fireworks in their neighbourhoods, terrorised pets, and of course the blatant assault of innocent people by marauding gangs who derive great pleasure from targeting their victims with paint, eggs and even faeces,” Smith stated.

No person under the age of 16 is permitted to discharge fireworks.

With the exception of News Years Eve, the cut-off time for the discharging of fireworks is 23h30.

“We encourage members of the public who want to let off fireworks to make use of the designated sites. Unfortunately we don’t have the authority to do more than that.”

The City has approved 12 sites for the discharging of fireworks during the festivities:

· Athlone Stadium parking area (eastern side), Klipfontein Road, Athlone
· Wesfleur sports field, Reygersdal Drive, Atlantis
· Bishop Lavis sports field, Lavis Drive, Bishop Lavis
· Metropolitan sports grounds, Melkhout Street, Bonteheuwel
· Blue Downs sports field
· Maiden’s Cove parking area, Victoria Road, Camps Bay
· Delft Central sports grounds, Main Road, Delft
· Macassar Beach parking area, Macassar Road
· Swartklip sports complex, Swartklip Road, Mitchells Plain
· Sarepta sports complex
· Strandfontein Pavilion
· Tourism Centre, Athens Road, Table View beachfront (with the following road closures: Marine Drive between Dolphin Beach Hotel and Marine Circle; Waves Edge will be closed off at Athens Road, Popham and Dunbar Streets).

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