Cape Town - The tug of war between the City and squatters who have been staying illegally at the old SA National Circus School took a new turn when management of the sports clubhouse adjacent to the occupiers spoke out for the first time.
FC Kapstadt which is located next to the circus school has criticised the illegal occupation and accused the occupiers of engaging in illegal activities.
FC Kapstadt president Zaid Omar said: “The former SA National Circus School is located adjacent to our Hartleyvale Stadium D Field clubhouse. The activities during the time of the SA National Circus School and post the circus have had a severe negative impact on our daily operations for a number of years.
“The occupants and their activities have coughed up direct environmental, health, safety and crime issues upon us and other neighbouring residents in Willow Road and greater Observatory.
"FC Kapstadt also does not support the proposal by the Willow Art Collective (the occupiers) to lease the land. We will not support activities that ignore the rule of law and poorly motivated attempts to force the authorities to cede land zoned and allocated for sport, when there’s not enough sport and recreation land in the city to begin with.”
The Willow Arts Collective is a community project based within the Hartleyvale sports precinct in Observatory, and has begun to turn a neglected piece of land into an urban vegetable garden that provides locally grown, organic vegetables for the community. Omar said they have tried to engage with the collective about their concerns.
“Although the Willow Arts Collective apologised for the impact their activities have had on us, we have experienced little positive reaction or improvements since. The City must accept responsibility for the site reaching this state.
“To make matters worse, the City’s Sports and Recreation area office is situated right opposite the Old National Circus site. City officials did very little to prevent the site reaching the appalling state,” he said.
Since 2018, the residents who have occupied the site have been served with eviction notices from the City, which wants to use the land for sport and recreational activities. The occupation is now subject to a legal process between the City and residents. The case is expected to be heard in court early next year.
Resident Moyo Uno has denied any illegal activities are taking place. “We are very health conscious and we have an agricultural area. We don’t know why they are complaining and we have always been open to engagements.
"We are being victimised and there’s a war against us. The City has not engaged with us,” he said.
Mayco member for community and health services Zahid Badroodien said: “The City remains committed to ensuring the Hartleyvale Sporting Precinct be utilised as a multi-code world-class sporting space. We are aware of the negative impact the occupation of the old SA National Circus School has had on the grassroots football club adjacent to it.
“We are further committed to engaging with the illegal land occupiers in order to find a way forward so we can return this facility to its original purpose in order to promote community participation in this diverse area.”
Cape Argus