Residents object to beachfront hotel
Difficult opinions on proposed project at Fitness Park
Residents have formally objected to a proposed five-star hotel development at Swakopmund's beachfront Fitness Park, opposing the municipality's plan to sell and rezone a section of public garden for business use.
More than 70 Swakopmund residents have lodged formal objections and a signed petition against a proposed five-star hotel at the beachfront Fitness Park in Vineta. The municipality intends to sell and rezone about 1 500 m² of land - part of a former road reserve currently landscaped as public gardens - to allow consolidation of two erven for a private hotel project.Objectors say the sale and rezoning from Single Residential to General Business will remove public-access land, violate the town’s Structure Plan, and set a precedent for further coastal privatisation. They argue that the strip forms part of the public open space developed as “Fitness Park,” maintained by both residents and the municipality.
Resident John Hopkins, who coordinated the objections, said he began developing the garden after receiving permission from the municipality in 2015. “I planted a hundred palm trees, and the park grew and grew over the years," he said, claiming the developer is going to extend the development into the Fitness Park area by 30 metres.
He said residents believe this would have a “big impact on the residential area” and that “there is no need for a hotel between the residential properties” when an open area nearby is already designated in the Structure Plan for a possible hotel. “That does not impact on any residential areas,” he said.
Municipal records confirm that Council, at its 25 January 2024 meeting, conditionally accepted an application by Stubenrauch Planning Consultants on behalf of Lumeris Investments Seventeen CC to purchase a ±1 483 m² portion west of Erven 9 and 10. The purchase price was set at N$4 000 per m², with a 10-metre height restriction and limited vehicle access. The resolution required ministerial approval before any sale could proceed.
Council further stipulated that all statutory costs, road closure, subdivision, and consolidation be for the purchaser’s account and that final approval would depend on receipt and consideration of objections.
Lawyers representing the objectors said they are investigating whether the municipality “followed the correct legal procedure in advertising and obtaining approval for the road closure prior to their decision to sell.” They noted that the strip contains a main sewer line and underground electrical cabling, both of which would need relocation “at the expense of the public and affected owners.”
The Swakopmund Structure Plan 2020–2040 states: “The beach area in general belongs to everyone and is and should remain a public open space without any restrictions.” Objectors say the proposed sale contradicts this, as well as the municipal rule that “Council does not sell land zoned ‘public open space’.”
Municipal records also show that the Fitness Park was included in the Northern Beach Master Development Plan, approved on 27 March 2008, which authorised public recreational developments, all to be developed in-house or under Council ownership. The plan therefore established the area as a municipal recreation facility, not a commercial site.
In April 2025, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development’s evaluation committee visited the site. A potential compromise was discussed: to reject the sale of the public strip but allow consolidation of the two erven for self-catering units on the condition that the zoning remains residential. The residents say they accepted this proposal and await the ministry’s decision.
Hopkins said the developer has not submitted clear building plans or hotel specifications. There’s no information on the hotel as such. No diagram. No, nothing,” he said, adding that General Business zoning could allow additional uses such as events or a liquor outlet.
While most objections have come from beachfront property owners, some nearby residents said they would have no objection to a small five-star hotel, provided it complies strictly with zoning rules, height limits and that public access to the Fitness Park and beach remains open. Some said such a development could enhance the area and improve property values if properly managed.