Hole-in-one for housing activists
| Published date | 20 April 2024 |
| Author | Genevieve Serra |
| Publication title | Weekend Argus |
Social housing activist group Ndifuna Ukwazi has been advocating for affordable housing in well-located urban spaces.
The King David Mowbray Golf Estate has become one of the group’s vocal points. It has 49.5 hectares, which is equal to the size of a small suburb or 49 rugby fields.
Yusrah Bardien, of Ndifuna Ukwazi, said the site had the potential to change many lives. “It could be used to transform the lives of hundreds of families while providing genuine public space and a range of amenities that do not require exorbitant membership fees to access.”
This week, Carl Pophaim, mayco member for human settlements, confirmed a new lease agreement had been signed with the golf estate but that a two-year cancellation clause could give way to mixed-use development.
“The council, on March 27, approved the 10-year renewal of the King David Mowbray golf club lease following the public participation process,” said Pophaim.
“The lease time frame, and importantly the introduction of a new two-year cancellation clause, follows the City identifying the site, or portions thereof, for mixed-use development in a pre-feasibility study.”
Pophaim said the proposed lease period and cancellation clause enables secure use of the site and saves costs while the City plans for substantial infrastructure upgrades to enable future mixed-use development.
He said this included road network improvements, electrical and waste-water treatment infrastructure and investigations into the feasibility of social housing.
Pophaim said that while housing activists were rallying for the land, social housing spaces were ongoing.
“Last year, the City made significant progress and released land for more than 2 200 social housing units across seven land parcels. Thousands of new opportunities are in the pipeline,” he said.
“The City is aiming in future to become more of an enabler of opportunities than the sole provider and programmes must be based on greater partnerships and more land parcels must be unlocked for human settlements. This includes the large pieces of well-located national government land.”
Pophaim said the City estimates that 100 000 social housing opportunities are possible at sites such as Wingfield, Youngsfield, Ysterplaat and the Parliamentary village.
“The release of these national mega-properties for housing would make a huge difference given the...
To continue reading
Request your trial