NEWS RELEASE                                                                                             11 February 2002

KLIPFONTEIN ROAD IDENTIFIED AS POSSIBLE SITE FOR CENTRALISED MARKET AND NEW FISH MARKET IN ATHLONE

City of Cape Town is keen to upgrade facilities for informal traders in the Athlone area and bring them together in a centralised marketplace - possibly in Klipfontein Road - that caters for their needs.

Among the facilities under consideration is a fishmongers' market along the lines of the Prince George Drive Fishmongers' Market at Princess Vlei that was officially opened by the Council in December last year.

After initial teething problems, business at the Prince George Drive market has picked up substantially.

However, no decisions will be made about the proposed market until the Council has undertaken a planning and design study in the area, which will commence over the next few weeks.

Council is concerned about the extent of ad hoc and illegal trading in the Gatesville and Rylands area and would like to see all the informal trading activities accommodated in the interests of the traders, businesses and the public.

Hanief Tiseker, Manager, Business Areas Management for the City of Cape Town, says areas in and around Athlone will be evaluated in the process of finding the most suitable site for a market.

"There is clearly demand for fish in the Athlone area, and we could either establish a formal fish market in Klipfontein Road or upgrade existing informal trading space at Gatesville and Rylands and include a fish market," he said.

"What we would like to see is a market similar to the ones often found abroad," said Tiseker. "Both the fish trade and the informal market are vital to local residents and we must look at ways to upgrade informal trading while being sensitive to the needs of everyone else."

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