- Premier says section of Tafelberg site is being explored for well-located social housing, but appeal litigation drags on
- Housing activists reiterate calls for social housing at Tafelberg, say there is no legal barrier to development
— Two years since the Western Cape High Court set aside the sale of the Tafelberg property (formerly the Tafelberg Remedial School) in Sea Point, the Western Cape Government says it will use a portion of the site for social housing.
Premier Alan Winde’s spokesperson Regan Thaw this week said provincial government departments have shown “significant interest” in the 1,2ha site on Main Road Sea Point, and were exploring the use of the site “in the public interest”.
“This included re-evaluating a portion of the site for social housing,” stated Thaw, adding: “The Western Cape Government’s clear support for spatial redress, is as strong as ever.”
The statement from the Premier’s office comes after social housing activist organisation Reclaim the City held a general assembly at the Sea Point Methodist Church on Saturday 27 August to reiterate calls for social housing on the site.
Initially, the Western Cape government tried to sell the Tafelberg property to the private Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School for R135 million in 2015. This sale, under then Premier Helen Zille, was set aside by the High Court in 2020 after Reclaim the City (RTC), represented by Ndifuna Ukwazi,took the Province and City to court. The ruling was hailed a victory in the fight for dismantling apartheid spatial planning, but instead of moving forward with housing provision, the provincial government, who own the land, opted to challenge aspects of the judgment in the Supreme Court of Appeal.
This was despite a 2012 feasibility report by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority offering a business plan for at least 200 homes with rents of between R700 and R2,250 (at the time) per month, along with a community hall and shops on the land.
It transpired the Province intended to use the proceeds of the sale to fund a government building, which National Treasury in 2017 noted as a concern, calling the Province’s plan “inappropriate”, as reported by James Stent for GroundUp.
In the meantime, the site has remained empty, with security guards patrolling the grounds, even as Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis states he is alarmed at the number of homeless people in the city, and rising fuel prices lead to increased transport costs for workers having to travel in from outlying townships.
Housing activists not convinced
Ndifuna Ukwazi executive director Adi Kumar said the response from Winde’s office, while positive, gives no indication of commitment, intent, and time frames to develop the site.
“We need clear deadlines and transparency by the Province to deliver. It has been five years on this legal matter alone, notwithstanding the centuries of spatial segregation in Cape Town without any tangible efforts to change the status quo,” said Kumar.
He said questions needed to be asked as to why Province needed to ‘re-evaluate’ the site when a number of studies had already recommended a mixed use development including social housing.
He said the Western Cape Government’s own feasibility study in 2012, before Province announced its intention to sell the property, recommended Tafelberg be developed for affordable housing.
“Our response to this concept by the province was that the number of units offered by the province at 270, could be increased, which we demonstrated through various feasibility studies.”
He said Ndifuna Ukwazi’s study also suggested a mixed-use site which could cross-subsidise the financing of the affordable housing units.
Additionally, he said at the time of the attempt to sell Tafelberg, there were three other sites in Sea Point the province was considering for affordable housing. There has been no further engagement or public announcement about these sites. “What are the Provincial plans for these parcels of land?”
Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre attorney Jonty Cogger said the Phyllis Jowell School have withdrawn their offer and Winde has committed to build social housing on the site.
“There is therefore no legal barrier to developing social housing on the Tafelberg property,” said Cogger.
Yet, the Province’s supreme court appeal against the High Court’s ruling that Province present a plan to show they were addressing apartheid spatial planning, among other matters, continues.
“The litigation is a waste of tax-payer time and money. This is all when the housing crisis is growing larger and deepening poverty,” said Kumar.
“The only mitigation is to deliver housing at scale in well located areas.” He said even the City had admitted this in its Integrated Development Plan and Municipal Spatial Development Framework documents.
“We cannot continue to have people living in undignified homes or die waiting for indefinite processes.”
Province says it is committed to apartheid redress
Thaw said Province has four other mixed use social housing projects in well located areas. These were:
- Conradie Park, a R3 billion mixed use social housing project in Pinelands which has already seen some tenants receive their homes, and will, once fully completed, comprise more than 3 500 homes.
- The Founders Garden Artscape Precinct, which is currently in the procurement phase for the appointment of a developer, and which, once completed, is likely to provide around 1185 mixed use housing opportunities in the heart of the CBD.
- The Leeuloop Precinct, also in the CBD, which is currently in the Land Use application phase, and which is set to provide 341 housing opportunities.
- The Somerset Precinct development, including the Helen Bowden Nurse’s home currently occupied by people in need of housing. Thaw said this development could only go ahead once the “unlawful occupiers” had left.
He said Premier Winde had recently decided to join the Department of Human Settlements and the Department of Transport and Public Works into a Department of Infrastructure which would “ensure a seamless and more collaborative focus on infrastructure delivery” and hopefully improve the pace of delivery.
Voices of the people
At the RTC general assembly, housing activist Elizabeth Gqoboka said public land belongs to the people.
“We also want to play with our kids on the Promenade” said Gqoboka who described the oppressive realities of living in an employer’s basement or maid’s quarters “with rats running over your feet”.
“This is not just a legal fight, but a political fight,” said Mandisa Shandu, attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre.
“The government would rather spend millions in court (rather) than releasing Tafelberg and other parcels of land”.
A Sea Point resident, who only provided his first name, Wayne, asked who would build the houses and where the money would come from. Another attendee asked who would qualify to live in Tafelberg and who will not, should affordable housing units get built.
Head of Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre Disha Govender responded, saying there were multiple ways to fund affordable housing, including government subsidies, cost subsidization and private parties coming to the table, but ultimately it was about will: “There’s no use building luxury apartments which the people of this country can’t afford”.
Attempts to get hold of the Sea Point Ratepayers and Residents Association were unsuccessful.