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Cape Town - WP Rugby has confirmed that it has made an application for a venue safety certificate for Newlands under the new safety regulations issued in terms of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act.
Under the new regulations promulgated in March 2017 under the Act, venues such as Newlands are now required to make an application to the relevant local authority in accordance with certain requirements and criteria set out in the new regulations.
Previously, the only requirements expressly set out in the Act pertaining to safety were those relating to event safety, pursuant to which WP Rugby had applied for and obtained an event permit certificate bi-annually from the City of Cape Town.
Confirming the application, WP Rugby Group CEO Paul Zacks said:
“We have been in regular contact with both the City and SA Rugby regarding the new application requirements and have been working on meeting the new requirements for some time in consultation with our health and safety advisors.
“WP Rugby takes safety and security at Newlands very seriously, and full fire and disaster risk management preparations – including an assessment of the stadium – are regularly undertaken by the City as a part of their event risk assessment and certification process.
“We are confident that we will meet the requirements under the new regulations. In fact WP Rugby recently achieved 89% for an event compliance audit conducted by independent specialist risk consultants, the highest score achieved in respect of rugby stadiums in South Africa hosting Vodacom Super Rugby Matches”.
SA Rugby recently confirmed Newlands as the official venue for the Springboks’ Rugby Championship Test on October 7 2017, pending receipt of the safety certificate under the new regulations.
Commenting further on the process, Zacks said:
“This is an ongoing process. The matter is now in the hands of the relevant assessors at the City of Cape Town and we have offered our full support and commitment in engaging with them to meet the various requirements, as usual.
“As per SA Rugby’s Constitution, all international matches involving the Springboks must be staged at a stadium which falls under the control of, or is approved by, the provincial union.
“It goes without saying that WP Rugby is excited to be able to host the All Blacks at Newlands and we have therefore done everything we can to make the necessary application and satisfy the City as regards any safety requirements that they have.”
