Protect our prime agricultural land

FOR THE city to allow 30 000 middleclass houses to be built on the Oaklands site would be the most terrible environmental crime committed here.

It would irrevocably destroy the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) where 51% of the fresh produce sold in Cape Town is grown and inevitably pollute the Cape Flats Aquifer, capable of providing 30% of Cape Town’s potable water needs.

If the PHA farmers really do not wish to continue farming, then national legislation to protect prime agricultural land would require that a new generation of poor farmers be found to take their place. Graham Noble Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance