Residents to be relocated to Pickwick facility
THE City is expected to relocate residents from the Pine Road informal settlement in Woodstock to the Pickwick Transitional Housing Facility in Pickwick Street, Salt River, today.
Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi is expected to hand over the keys to the new residents.
“This short-term accommodation facility will enable the City to relocate people from sites that have been earmarked for social housing projects but which have not been able to be developed for social housing as they are informally occupied,” Booi said.
He would also be conducting a site visit to the area.
Booi said the project formed part of the City’s commitment to unlocking thousands of affordable and social housing opportunities in the Cape Town inner-city areas of Woodstock and Salt River in the future.
“Going forward, it will be possible for all of the sites that are earmarked for social housing in the innercity areas of Woodstock and Salt River to be unlocked due to the establishment of this transitional facility,” he said
The Pickwick transitional housing site is a first for the City and would provide short-term accommodation for those living at the Pine Road site which, once complete, would provide about 230 social housing opportunities.
The housing site, on the corner of Pickwick and Copperfield roads, has 42 rooms, communal bathrooms and kitchens, as well as access control to ensure the safety of tenants. The construction of the development cost about R11 million.
Earlier this month, the Cape Argus reported that 13 other families had been staying at the Woodstock Hall since February.
They were the victims of a massive fire last year in the informal settlement on Pine Road that resulted in the death of an eight-month-old infant.