Bromwell residents say 'hell no' to new housing

The Wolwerivier area. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane

The Wolwerivier area. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane

Published Nov 7, 2016

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Cape Town - Moving nearly 40km away from a place they have called home for decades is not an option for five families living in Woodstock.

The families that live in Bromwell Street are still fighting an eviction order to have them removed from their homes.

The residents now say they have been offered alternative accommodation in Wolwerivier, near Melkbosstrand.

On Sunday, some of them visited the area and were unhappy about it, saying they refuse to be sent to live there.

In October 2013, The Woodstock Hub purchased number 120 to 128 Bromwell Street and secured eviction orders against the residents who initially stood to be evicted by September 9.

The residents are now waiting for their case to be heard at the Western Cape High Court this Wednesday.

Spokeswoman for mayor Patricia de Lille, Pierrinne Leukes, said the city was not able to give comment until the matter was heard in court this week.

Graham Beukes, who has lived in Woodstock for years with his mother and three children aged 11, 9 and 7, visited the site in Wolwerivier. He said it looked very bleak. "We can't live here. There are no schools or clinics or anything. There is no future for our kids here. It is like a squatter camp, it looks a lot like Blikkiesdorp."

He said residents of Wolverivier were not friendly to them during their visit and he said seeing children sitting around on corners doing nothing was disheartening.

The other residents also said "hell no" to moving there.

"There is no life there. There is no entertainment for the children there and no future for them. I would rather go live on the streets."

Reclaim the City has been supporting the families throughout the process and previously said while the evictions were legal, they were unjust.

The organisation said that the eviction would leave 43 people homeless, 19 of whom are children.

Last month the city said that four of the five families qualified to apply for social housing opportunities, according to their policies and the circumstances. One of the residents, Brenda Smith was offered a house in Pelican Park by the Western Cape government but turned it down.

The city said they encouraged the residents to apply for housing as they plan to build two social housing developments in the next 18 months.

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Cape Argus

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