Agricultural hub not a threat to housing
Philippi Horticultural Area must be preserved, says civic group
THERE is enough land in Cape Town to address the dire lack of housing for the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) to be preserved as an agricultural hub, according to the Schaapkraal Civic and Environmental Association.
“Housing is not in a crisis; there is other land for housing. You don’t need to build houses on our land,” chairperson of the association Nazeer Sonday said.
He said it was essential that the PHA be preserved for agricultural use only.
A study presented to the Western Cape standing committee on economic opportunities, tourism and agriculture highlighted the importance of the PHA as an agricultural zone, suggesting the land should not be developed for residential purposes.
“I think it’s a study like all other studies that has been conducted on the PHA. I am very doubtful of this because the study is not clear on how it is going to address the plight of farmers who live in poverty.
“They do not have proper houses, what about them?”
The study recommended that the PHA be spared any development beyond the pending approved developments already in the planning phase.
Developer Oaklands City plans to build 30 000 homes in the area.
Permission was granted to rezone the land for residential use in 2016, but the development has since been halted by a court application brought by the association.
“We are challenging the city, (Environmental Affairs and Development Planning) MEC (Anton) Bredell and the developer.
“We are saying they have meticulously duped the whole process,” Sonday said.
Standing committee chairperson Beverley Schäfer said the committee had yet to discuss the report and find a way forward.
“We are going to wait for three months for a report back from the provincial department of agriculture, and we will be doing this for every three months because this is vital,” Schäfer said.
“We need to do this regularly because we don’t want our farmers to sell their land because they feel threatened or at risk,” Schäfer said.
Some of the committee findings include the fact that the area is threatened by a lack of safety and security, as well as illegal land use and dumping.
The report, delivered to the committee this week, would be made public on Monday afternoon, Schäfer said.
WE DON’T WANT OUR FARMERS TO SELL THEIR LAND BECAUSE THEY FEEL THREATENED