City succeeds in appeals to proceed with 725 social housing units in Woodstock

14 September 2023

Two City of Cape Town projects set to deliver 725 social housing units in Woodstock have successfully passed the heritage appeals phase. The projects are Earl Street (150 units), and Cape Town’s biggest inner city social housing development at Woodstock Hospital (575 units). 

The City successfully appealed the decision not to grant heritage approval for Earl Street by showing that developing this site would, in fact, not cause the loss of existing public open space.

Opportunities for integrated public open spaces will further be considered as part of the Local Spatial Development Framework for Woodstock.

Heritage Western Cape also dismissed an appeal by the Woodstock Resident's Association against heritage approval for the City's Woodstock Hospital social housing project.

'With heritage approval secured, we are one step closer to social housing at Woodstock Hospital, our biggest inner city project, and the neighbouring Earl Street site. This is welcome progress towards faster land release for well-located affordable housing development.

'Woodstock Hospital has particularly favourable zoning rights, and we are moving ahead with land release. We are also determined to resolve the main obstacle to developing Woodstock Hospital, which remains the building hi-jacking by Ndifuna Ukwazi's Reclaim the City campaign on 26 March 2017,' said Councillor Carl Pophaim, Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements.

Following the Western Cape Government's 22 March announcement that social housing would be developed at Woodstock Hospital property, to be sold to the City, and the provincially owned Helen Bowden Nurse's Home, these properties were subject to orchestrated building hi-jackings.

The building hi-jacking was followed by subsequent calls for financial contributions to "sustain and build" the illegal occupation.

In October 2018, the Western Cape High Court granted the City an order interdicting and restraining Reclaim the City from "inciting persons to enter or be upon the property for the purpose of unlawfully occupying or invading".

There are now pending legal proceedings following the high court granting the City an order to survey the number and individual circumstances of occupants.

Approvals secured for over 2 000 social housing units

Under the Mayoral Priority Programme to accelerate land release for affordable housing, close to 2 000 social housing units across seven well-located land parcels, including five in the inner city.

The properties and social housing unit yield are:

• Newmarket Street (Cape Town) – 200
• Salt River Market (Salt River) – 215
• Pickwick (Salt River) – 600
• Fruit and Veg (CBD) – 180
• Earl Street (Woodstock) – 150
• Parow sub-precint 1 and 2 (Voortrekker Road corridor) – 631
  
   
  The City has also passed guidelines for the discounting of public land to maximise affordable housing units on the land we release and ensure project viability.
  
   
  'Besides the approvals for over 2 000 social housing units in the last year, tenanting further commenced earlier this year at the City's well-located 204-unit Maitland Mews social housing development in that inner city feeder suburb.
   
  
  'Along with the Voortrekker corridor, construction is ongoing at the City's partially funded 1055-unit Goodwood Station development on PRASA land, while 314 units were completed at the Bothasig Gardens development.
   
  
  'Overall, the City has over 50 land parcels in the planning pipeline City-wide.
  
   
  'The City is further playing an enabling role in the Western Cape Government's Founder's Garden precinct in the CBD, and the Conradie Park development in the inner City feeder suburb of Pinelands, with 432 social housing units constructed in Phase One and Phase 2 construction imminent for 659  social housing units,' said Councillor Pophaim.
   
  
   
  
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office