A group of Scottsdene spinners and over 120 spectators were nipped by City officials on Monday when their usual car spinning event was summarily cancelled.
The group of petrolkoppe who descended on the pitch along Koopmans Avenue for their spinning hobby on the public holiday were stopped in their tracks while they were spinning to loud cheers from spectators.
Lizette van Rooyen, a member of Scottsdene Spinners steering committee, said they are currently waiting for a designated site after applying to the City of Cape Town last year.
She says they have been looking to secure a space to spin on two Sundays in a month, where they won’t bother residents, for years.
“We appealed to the City of Cape Town to give us a place to spin. We challenged them via the municipality for social upliftment in our area,” says Lizette.
“We are now awaiting a lease agreement. We can’t all afford to go to Killarney and we want to promote the youngsters but we can't spin here anymore as we have been prohibited.
“We, as the Spinning Committee, have been struggling for 20 years already, we need people to stand with us.”
Johnny Scheffers, also from the committee, says they are spinning to alleviate poverty.
“It’s about uplifting our communities from poverty, we need to speak as one voice.
“We really want to spin again since Covid locked us down and the levels have eased,” he says.
“We hope to get good news for our supporters soon, with regards to our application.”
But the City of Cape Town says there is no commitment or approval to provide space, and mense can only go to Killarney for spinning.
Spokesperson for Traffic Services, Richard Coleman, said: “The City’s Traffic Service confirms that the spinning event in Koopmans Avenue is illegal as it is conducted on public land and roadway.
“No event permits have been approved or official safety measures put in place for such an event.
“Traffic Services is unaware of any commitment or approval to provide space for the event.
“The only recognised available venue is the Killarney race track.”
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