Estate sees red over plan to save the greens
● A popular Cape Town golf club wants to turn part of its famous property into a six-storey retirement village to shore up its strained finances.
But the planned development at Westlake Golf Course would impinge on the views from Stonehurst Estate, where owners include Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi and cricketing legends Dale Steyn, Faf du Plessis and Jacques Kallis.
Its homes are strictly height-restricted and the golf course and its development partners are now on a collision course with Stonehurst, which this week said it is submitting a formal objection to the plan.
“The bulk size of the development is totally out of sync with everything in our area,” Stonehurst homeowners’ association chair Mike Jay told the Sunday Times. “The biggest concern we have right now is that not all the information is available.”
To accommodate its new development, the golf club is asking the City of Cape Town to rezone the property to allow subdivision. In a motivation report submitted last August, the club cited long-term sustainability as the reason for its commercial venture.
“For those whose livelihoods are at risk in a struggling economy, sport and recreation has become an unaffordable luxury and many memberships at sports clubs are not being renewed,” the report says. “This has impacted the club’s sustainability. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the privately owned Westlake Golf Club, it has become essential to innovate, reinvent and reposition itself to stay relevant and, more importantly, to stay in business.”
Sports organisations such as bowling and sailing clubs — many of them reliant on older members — are increasingly under pressure from rising costs and space constraints. Cape Town is pushing an urban densification policy and has supported mixed-use developments on other city-owned recreational sites, such as the Mowbray golf course.
But critics of the Westlake plan point to the sheer scale of the development and to the flawed application process, including an apparent lack of public participation. Not all interested and affected parties were notified, among them environmental group Zandvlei Catchment Forum, which said this week it had only been made aware of the proposal after the public comment deadline had passed.
Criticism also centres on the visual impact and bulk services plan. The 2.4ha development footprint includes 123 apartments with communal facilities and amenities, and a new relocated club house with a virtual putting lab. The large arrow-shaped residential block would rise 20m over the 10th fairway.
By contrast, Stonehurst homes have compulsory setbacks and green corridors, with strict height curbs on buildings and perimeter fencing. As a “dark sky” development, outside lighting cannot be higher than one metre and must be downward facing.
“The issue here isn’t the proposed development per se, it’s about indiscriminate versus sensitive development,” said Nicky Schmidt, Stonehurst resident who heads green watchdog group Parkscape. “I think most people accept the reality of urban densification, but core to this is the ‘how’ of that densification.
“Globally, cities, despite growing, are seeking to reclaim and reinvigorate green spaces for urban health and wellbeing — people need nature, nature needs protection. But in Cape Town we seem to be seeing wholesale development for the sake of profit — and possibly political motive — at the cost of environment and landscapes, including cultural and heritage landscapes,” Schmidt said.
Despite its large size, the development does not require an environmental impact assessment, the motivation report reads. “An exhaustive/extensive environmental process was undertaken and concluded by a team of well-respected and experienced consultants in line with current legislation,” the club said.
Schmidt countered that the city has not acceded to her request to see the environmental annexure to the club’s motivation report.
Some critics questioned the motivation behind the development in light of the club’s popularity. Club membership grew by 102 in 2022 and visitor numbers also swelled, according to a membership report. “This sees us as the busiest 18-hole club in the Western Province,” the report said.
The club this week conceded there were problems with the initial public participation process, which were rectified by pushing out the deadline. “Shortly after this process had started the municipality became aware that the relevant notices/advertisements had not reached all stakeholders due to technical issues,” it said in a statement to the Sunday Times, adding the comment period has since been extended.
The visual impact assessment took heed of comments from the city council at a presubmission meeting, the club said.
It added that the development has many positive impacts. “There is currently a shortage of retirement living options in the area and this will fill a gap that is only getting larger. Overall, it will be an enhancement and value-add for the area,” the club said.
One opponent questioned the wisdom of the development’s “biophilic” design, which includes numerous trees, despite its location adjacent to the mountainside. A 2015 fire breached the Stonehurst perimeter, prompting Steyn, in Australia at the time for the World Cup, to say: “I’m sitting halfway across the world, and everything I’ve earned or got in my life, every wicket, ball, bit of clothing in my 31 years, is in that house.”
Eddie Andrews, City of Cape Town executive head of spatial planning & environment, said: “Generally speaking there is a concern about the loss of green open space in the southern district. This needs to be balanced within the context of a growing city, and these issues will be thoroughly examined and addressed as part of the assessment of the application.”