Cape Town - The national government’s plan to build a luxury hotel and string of bistros on prime land surrounding the historic Fort Wynyard in Green Point will have a knock-on effect on the future of Cape Town Stadium, says the ward councillor for the area.
“Although there is no formal response from the city yet, we would be concerned about any development on a historic site. If it did go ahead, it would have an impact on the stadium and plans for its commercialisation,” said councillor Beverley Schafer.
A four-storey hotel is one of the options being considered in the business plan for the Cape Town Stadium. Allowing another commercial development “right on their doorstep” could be problematic, Schafer said.
The defence force, which owns Fort Wynyard and the land around it, has asked the CSIR to call for proposals from architects to produce drawings for two developments.
One of these is for erven 1252 and 1253 near Fort Wynyard, headquarters of the Cape Garrison Artillery. The fort was built in 1860 and, as a provincial heritage site, its views of Robben Island and Table Bay are protected. This means that developments around the fort should have height restrictions.
According to the CSIR, plans include the construction of a four- or five-star hotel with 150 rooms, six suites and two penthouses.
The New Laboratory buildings are to be converted into bistros and cafés.
Civic groups appear to have been caught off-guard by the CSIR’s proposal call. All are concerned about the level of public participation that will be allowed.
“We can’t have development for the sake of development. It is right on the steps of the Waterfront,” Schafer said.
Although the land belongs to national government, an environmental impact assessment would need to be done to give the city and other affected parties an opportunity to comment.
“We will keep a close watch on this.”
The Green Point Ratepayers and Residents Association said it had not yet finalised its response to the CSIR’s call, but there were concerns about the weighting system being used to choose the successful architect.
While points would be awarded for the architect’s experience in the design of local and international hotels, retail centres and high density residential developments, there was no mention of points for the architect’s experience in preserving a heritage site.
The second portion of defence force land up for development is the Tamboerskloof Ammunition Magazine. The CSIR has asked for drawings for a conference facility, a guest house, a home for military veterans and VIP housing. There would also be a communal kitchen and laundry.
The site is being used as an “informal foster farm” and houses animals and a small community.
Barry Smith, of the City Bowl Ratepayers and Residents Association, said that while the farm was a “festering sore” and in need of a clean-up, the association would be keen to see extensive public participation about any development plans.
“It is a historic site and there are national monuments there.” There would also need to be a detailed traffic impact assessment.
There had been talks of building there in the past, but developers had “hit a brick wall” when trying to get a response from national government.
The CSIR has not responded to questions about the number of proposals submitted or the nature of the designs put forward. There was also no clarity about what would happen once an architect was appointed.
Cape Argus