CAPE TOWN - Shop owners in Woodstock are fearing closure because of high rates hikes and rent, electricity and water increases.
Over the past few years, Woodstock has experienced gentrification, with more and more property owners selling their real estate to big developers, pushing up the prices of surrounding properties.
Many people who had been staying in Woodstock and Salt River were relocated to Blikkiesdorp in Delft and Wolwerivier near Atlantis.
The Cape Argus visited a number of small business owners and corner shop owners who all said they feared they would have to pack up because of rising costs.
A Victoria Road grocery store owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “I am renting this shop, but because of increases in rates, my landlord has now forced us to pay rates as well
“All of the shop owners are feeling the effects of the high increases in rates.
Quite a few of them who own buildings have also been approached by rich developers to sell.”
A man who has been running a butchery in Woodstock for the past 25 years, who also did not want his name published, said:
“Over the years, our rent has increased from R2 500 to R6 000. This excludes the electricity and water, which also increased drastically.
“A lot of the poor people have and are moving out of the area. All of it started when all those people from Gympie Street in Woodstock moved out about 10 years ago. Our customers have been the people who could not afford to shop at the big supermarkets.
“The posh people who will be living in the expensive flats will buy their groceries from us.
“They will be buying from the big supermarkets in the new malls. All of these small businesses will be closing, because most of our customers are gone.”
Another corner shop owner said that he was struggling to keep his head above water. “It is really bad because we are struggling. The rates, electricity and water have all gone up. If it continues, we will be forced to move out,” he said.
Tony Ehrenreich, a member of the opposition in the City Council, said: “This shows how the City of Cape Town is further pushing people out of the city to the peripheries of Cape Town.
“Poor people have to stay far from their work. They are refusing to integrate rich and poor people. They are also squeezing small business owners out of areas such as Woodstock,” he said.