Housing advocacies cautiously welcomes extension of public participation period on Old Woodstock Hospital site.

Housing advocacies has cautiously welcomed the two-month extension of public participation period on the Woodstock Hospital site.

The deadline for comments would have been Wednesday, 27 November 2024, but Capetonians and interested parties have until 31 January 2025 to share their views on plans to renovate an old Woodstock Hospital site into a housing development.

PICTURE: Matthew Hirsch

This is the second time the public participation process was extended, as the initial due date was 27 September. The City of Cape Town says this in recognition of various stakeholders with an interest in the future development of the property.

Following the Western Cape Government’s announcement that social housing would be developed at Woodstock Hospital, which was to be sold to the City, these properties were subject to occupiers. These were followed by subsequent calls for financial contributions to "sustain and build" the site.

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’. This marked the start of sustaining the facility management and accelerating the planning for affordable housing.

‘’I have pushed for an extension as we look forward to some further meaningful public participation on this valuable project. My directorate has worked hard against so many obstacles, including the unlawful occupation and hi-jacking of the building, as well as having to traverse the very complex regulatory and legal environment that governs public property disposal and affordable housing development. The illegal occupation of the Woodstock Hospital site has been the single biggest delay to this development,’’ said Carl Pophaim, Mayco Member for Human Settlements.

Pophaim said the public participation extension will be formally advertised in terms of statutory requirements on 29 November 2024.

"While we appreciate the City's extension for comments on site disposal, we are disappointed by City’s continual portrayal of Cissie Gool House residents as “building hijackers”. This narrative hinders genuine engagement with the community and reflects the City's lack of accountability for policies that contribute to housing struggles, while making a scapegoat of those who suffer as a result,’’ said Yusrah Bardien communications and engagements officer at Ndifuna Ukwazi.

‘’Further, the City’s claims of meaningful engagement are misleading, as they have not consulted residents on proposed solutions that could prevent significant displacement and could fulfil the City’s obligations for equitable access to land and housing. We remind MMC Pophaim of his commitment to meaningfully engage with the residents of CGH, a promise that remains unfulfilled,’’ she added.

Reclaim The City is in the view that not many people will comment on the process as many will be on a holiday mood.

 ‘’It must be said upfront that this is public land which has been in the public custodianship by the provincial government as well as the municipality of City of Cape Town. This public land is significant as it currently provides shelters and accommodation for thousands of people and the selling of the land would have dire consequences for the community that is currently residing on the site,’’ said Bevil Lucas, Cissie Gool House leader; representative of reclaim The City.

 ‘’The extension is welcome, however Cape Town has a holiday destination between 15 December and 15 January, so it is very difficult to get anything moving in this part of the world. As much as it is a welcome extension, it must be noted that in the period in which the extension is granted it leaves us with very little time to comment and those already in a holiday mood. However we will engage with authorities and continue to do so, regarding the future of the site, which should remain public and we will be happy to participate in a process which speaks to the ability to hold onto the space as public space for the use of the people and a solution to the housing crisis we face in the City,’’ he added.

 

Done by: Mitchum George