Stables Market set for revitalisation

AFTER years of dereliction, the Stables Market, once a buzzing hub of activity in Durban’s Umgeni area, is poised for transformation in the coming months.

- TASCHICA PILLAY

AN ARTIST'S impression of what the Stables Lifestyle Market will look like after its multi-million rand refurbishment.

(Supplied)

The new Stables Lifestyle Market is expected to reignite the life in the community with a multimillion-rand investment that marks the beginning of an expansive redevelopment project aimed at rejuvenating the iconic site adjacent to the rugby stadium.

In 2020, traders were forced to move out after the company that managed the Stables, lost a court battle against the eThekwini Municipality. This was to make way for a new soccer academy, which was announced in 2012.

Spearheading the development of the Lifestyle Market is Private Park Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, with Hoy Park Management (Pty) Ltd acting as the master precinct leaseholder.

The project, representing the first phase of the Stables Sports & Lifestyle Precinct, aligns itself with key municipal goals, including sports development, urban regeneration, heritage preservation, tourism activation, and inclusive local economic growth.

Attorney Tashya Giyapersad, on behalf of her client Yaser Nasef, head of Glen Eden Trading, the company that previously managed the Stables, said the closure of the Stables destroyed the lives and livelihoods of informal traders, some of whom will never recover.