Africa-Press – Zambia. THE Lusaka City Council (LCC) has abandoned plans to demolish the Lusaka Play House and build a filling station there. In May 2022, LCC posted a notice which indicated that the place was earmarked for demolition and later to be replaced by a filling station.
According to a notice mounted on the premises, Hass Petroleum Zambia Limited intended to ‘’apply for planning permission for a major development comprising a filling station on Stand No LUS/2637 at the corner of Church Road and Nasser Road in Rhodes Park, Lusaka City’’.
“The application is likely to have significant impact on the amenity of adjoining properties. The application may be viewed at the office of the Town Clerk of Lusaka City Council,” read the notice.
But artists and other stakeholders objected the move, with artist Sampa Kabwela describing the property as a national treasure which must be protected at all costs ‘’including from unscrupulous businesses’’.
She said any attempts to put up a filling station at the Lusaka Playhouse should be resisted because it violated the historical and cultural value of the place.
“While nobody can refute the decay of the Playhouse, and the need for investment to expand it, defacing it with a filling station is not the kind of investment we need. The playhouse sits on one of the most priced pieces of estate in the country as can be seen with the gentrification around it,” said Kabwela. “Every investor would want that piece of estate, therefore, the custodians of the playhouse, together with the artists, must find befitting investment. This is a national treasure that must be protected. Cultural landmarks, such as the playhouse, have historical significance.”
And in a letter to Lusaka Theatre Cooperative Society Limited chairman Henry Phiri, acting town clerk Liftery Ndaba said the idea was dropped during a full council meeting.
‘’RE: PROPOSED FILLING STATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AT LUSAKA PLAYHOUSE
Reference is made to the above captioned matter and your letter dated 6th February, 2024 in which you requested for an update regarding the application for a permit to construct a Filling Station at the Lusaka Playhouse. Kindly be informed that the item in question went through the Council Meeting were it was withdrawn under minute number C/86/11/2023,’’ read the letter dated March 6, 2024.
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