In March, when the Western Cape decided to go ahead with the sale of the Tafelberg site in Sea Point, Premier Helen Zille committed to maximising affordable housing on the Woodstock Hospital site and Helen Bowden Nurses Home.
Four months later, the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) submitted a rezoning application, not just for the nurses home, but for the entire Somerset Hospital Precinct between the V&A Waterfront and Cape Town Stadium.
The proposed development plans, submitted as motivation, fall far short of the premier’s commitment to “release the land on the specific basis that the maximum number of affordable housing units be included in its development, in a way that is viable and rational”.
According to the application, the precinct is considered to be the most valuable property the province owns.
DTPW is proposing to close Somerset Hospital and allow for 270 000m2 of floor space to be built including shops, offices, hotels and more than 1 000 exclusive flats – this is roughly equal to the size of two Canal Walk shopping centres. Only 300 affordable units will be included, which represents 4% of the bulk.
Given the government’s track record, these will probably not be truly affordable public housing options, such as social housing despite the site being within a restructuring zone.
There is a risk these could be cheaper market rate flats.
As it stands, the proposal is not aligned with the province’s obligations to redress spatial apartheid.
Most of the site could potentially be owned, occupied and used by wealthy corporations and an elite few who would entrench unequal and segregated access to land and opportunities.
Considering the lack of any affordable housing having been built in the inner city and surrounds, legitimate questions should be asked about why the province does not routinely prioritise the needs of poor and working-class people when considering the use of its well-located public land.
The proposal relies on the land being declared surplus to service delivery needs or socio-economic objectives.
As far as we are aware, the relevant processes to declare the land surplus have not been completed.
We find it hard to understand how this can be achieved given the clear interest of the Department of Human Settlements in obtaining well-located land, and the interests of other spheres of the government in similar uses.
Unfortunately, much like we saw in the process leading up to the disposal of the Tafelberg site, the department seems to be acting unilaterally, furthering an agenda to strip public land for maximum profit.
Those who are affected by the housing crisis cannot help but feel that this government is acting in bad faith and doing exactly the opposite of what has been promised.
We have lodged an objection with the relevant authority at the City of Cape Town to refuse the rezoning until such time as it is accompanied by a more just and equitable development proposal.
We have asked the premier to suspend the application until she is satisfied that the proposed development aligns with the principles of spatial justice and her own public commitments, rather than furthering the stripping of public land and the capture of state assets by elites.
This must include a significant proportion of affordable public housing which can help to bring black and coloured people back into the city, desegregate former white areas, build an inclusive economy and redress the injustices of the past.
Note on the Somerset Precinct
The application seeks to rezone the Somerset Precinct, consisting of erven 1955, 2090, 2166, 1560 and 1559, from Open Space and Community Open Space to General Business 6.
This is a 10.6 hectare parcel of public land between the Cape Town Stadium, the V&A Waterfront and UCT Graduate School of Business.
It includes Somerset Hospital, Helen Bowden Nurses Home and the Old City Hospital.