Businesses and residents have launched a long-term campaign to restore Gqeberha's Happy Valley after years of neglect turned the once-popular beachfront park into a symbol of municipal decline. Organisers hope sustained community action, backed by municipal support, can reclaim the space for residents and tourists alike.

Residents and businesses are reclaiming Happy Valley after years of neglect turned one of Gqeberha's best-known beachfront parks into an overgrown, vandalised no-go area.

A Mandela Day event on Saturday marked the first phase of what organisers hope will become a multi-year campaign to reclaim the park, which stretches from Humewood Beach to the defunct Telkom Park.

Once famous for its fairy-tale and nursery rhyme installations and illuminated walkways, Happy Valley and parts of the beachfront have become a shadow of what they were. For volunteers, Saturday's effort was as much about community pride as clearing the overgrown park.

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Tiffany Naidoo of the Port Elizabeth Hotel Group/The Beach Hotel said the idea grew out of the group's annual beach clean-up.

After hosting beach clean-ups for several years, including one last year that drew more than 300 people, the group was challenged to find a project where a crowd that size could have a greater, lasting impact.

Happy Valley stood out as the obvious choice because of its significance to residents. Planning began in February, focusing on securing municipal approval and corporate sponsorship.

"This led to the creation of Madiba Day 2026 -- Happy Valley Phase 1, focusing on the...