Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has given the go ahead for the “White House”, the infamous derelict building in Hout Bay, to finally be demolished.
The dilapidated building on the corner of main and OR Tambo roads has been a bone of contention for residents for years.
It had become a crime hotspot and earlier this month, residents out of frustration, set it alight.
Earlier on Wednesday, the City of Cape Town’s Council unanimously approved the demolition of what remains of the “White House”.
The building had been standing vacant for decades and had become a haven for criminals.
The demolition will start on Thursday morning, weather permitting. The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Brett Herron said “the estimated cost of the demolition and removal of the rubble is R30 000 and the process is expected to take about two days.”
But he warned it could take longer than expected because of heavy rain forecast for Thursday.
The department for Asset Management and Maintenance at Transport for Cape Town, the City’s transport authority, would demolish the building. The rubble will be deposited at the nearest dumping site.
“Even though the process to demolish this building commenced long before the recent media attention, and we were required to follow prescribed and lengthy processes including a heritage application, I apologise to the community for the neglect of this building and for the slow process to get to this point where we can remove it,” Herron said.
He warned residents that the City’s Law Enforcement division would have to ensure that the land was not illegally occupied once the building had been demolished. He urged residents to report any signs of illegal occupation to the South African Police Service and the City.
The “White House” is one of several cottages that were constructed in the 1930s when the then Hout Bay Road Maintenance Depot was established. At the time Hout Bay was an outlying area with very little development and no public transport or accommodation for staff. However, the situation had changed over the years, as did the need to house staff in official quarters.
The building recommended for demolition was initially used as a standby house for operational purposes by Transport for Cape Town, but was currently unoccupied and derelict.
All of its fixtures and fittings have been ripped out and the ceilings damaged by fires.
“The building is older than 60 years but Heritage Western Cape supports the demolition as it is believed to have no significant heritage value and adds very little to the historic character of the precinct,” added Herron.
ANA