Durban - Traders at the Stables Lifestyle Market have been thrown a lifeline and will be allowed to stay on at the site. But the horses at the nearby New Market Stables and the Metro Police Equestrian unit still have to go.
That is the word from Hoy Park Management, developers of the King’s Park precinct, ahead of tonight’s public meeting at the St Thomas church in Musgrave, on the future of the stables.
But
Yaser Nasef, one of the owners of the company that manages the flea market, said they would not accept Hoy Park negotiating directly with traders and would go to court.
“Our agreement is with the city. Who is this Hoy Park and who are they to come and negotiate without the city?” he asked.
Marc Harford, another owner, said: “If they are just going to come in here what will happen to all the assets we have built up over the years? We cannot accept someone just taking over our business.”
The market, the Newmarket Stables and the Metro Police Equestrian Unit were given notice last month to vacate the premises by the end of this month.
Yesterday Carlos Catalino, the managing director of Hoy Park Management, said they had come up with a plan to keep the flea market traders at the site. This would mean, he said, that the company that runs the flea market - owned by four traders - would no longer be in charge nor collect rentals.
“What we are suggesting is the traders form a committee and the rent collected from the committee goes into a sports trust. That money will go towards supporting one of the kids at the soccer academy.
“We do not want to run a flea market. We want the traders to run it. From our side we will be able to assist them to a certain point as long as it does not hamper the sports precinct,” he said.
“There are certain people who have decided that they do not want to negotiate and are now rallying people behind them to go to court. No one has come to us to discuss this and see what the solution is. Hoy Park is not the municipality.
“This is something that has been in the making for three years and is the result of resolutions in the provincial and municipal government. The main thing from our side is that we are not going to kick the traders out at the end of the month,” he said.
Catalino said that resistance from the market was being driven by the management of the flea market who had failed to inform traders of discussions between them and Hoy Park since November.
He said the talk of court action was uncalled for as flea market traders could have a long-term future at the precinct.
“We can sit down with the traders and discuss what the project is about and see where we can accommodate them. No one has to go spend a single cent (on court action).
“Once they see the way forward they will be happy and we will be happy and they can be part of the project. At the end of the day everyone would provide a service in the facility.
“If someone comes with their son and daughter to play football for two hours, there will be an opportunity for the parents to walk into the market, buy something or have something to eat.
“We are looking at creating a little village inside the facility,” he said.
Regarding the equestrian school, Catalino said he was trying to help them find new stables but the school had stopped talking to them.
“No one is saying the school must close or that horses must be put down. What they are not telling people is that they have a farm in Hammarsdale and they can easily relocate. We could easily have transport facilities that could take the kids to the new site and bring them back.
“They just decided that they are just going to fight. What people do not understand is that this (soccer academy) is not for us to make money. Every cent that is made goes back to a kid (at the academy).”
Nadine Parker, head coach at New Market Stables Equestrian Club, could not be reached for comment on Monday. However, she has said they planned to fight evictions.
Daily News