R170m Dido Valley development: A housing handover which rebuilds and restores

25 October 2023

The City’s Human Settlements Mayoral Committee Member Councillor Carl Pophaim and officials in the directorate today, 25 October 2023, handed over 10 new Breaking New Ground (BNG) Dido Valley homes to qualifying Redhill informal settlement beneficiaries. The R170 million Simon’s Town project is made up of 600 housing opportunities, of which 500 are subsidised Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses earmarked for the Redhill beneficiaries and 100 are houses for Luyolo land claimants.

'I am so excited to be here today at this beautiful and meaningful housing project. This housing project not only empowers beneficiaries as first-time homeowners, but it also brings together a community that was so tragically severed. This is a very real example of redress and restitution in action and of our dedication to building an improved future for those who bore the brunt of the apartheid policies. The Luyolo claimants have also been receiving their homes as they've been completed. This well-located project also enables and unlocks affordable housing in this area for residents who are among the most vulnerable in the metro.

'Work on site is progressing well and is expected to be completed by June 2025, if all continues to go according to plan. Thank you to our communities, City teams and project steering committees for the hard work and dedication to move this project forward,' said Councillor Pophaim. 

The majority of the beneficiaries for the BNG component of the project come from the Redhill informal settlement, which is located between Simon's Town and Scarborough and their allocation is in line with housing allocation policies. 

The other beneficiaries, the Luyolo land claimant beneficiaries were forcibly removed from Simon's Town in the mid-1960s under the apartheid Group Areas Act. These beneficiaries were moved to Gugulethu. The project has a combined support organisation representing the two groups of beneficiaries from Redhill and Luyolo respectively. 

Beneficiaries of City housing projects are selected in accordance with the City's Housing Allocation Policy and Housing Needs Register to ensure housing opportunities are made available in a fair and transparent manner that prevents queue jumping and to those who qualify for housing as per the South African legislation. The City's political office bearers do not have access to or influence over the Register and its qualifying beneficiaries.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office