Frustrated Cape Town residents seek relief from ongoing Parliament construction noise

Parliament in Cape Town on fire on 3 January, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)

19 Dec 2024

Residents near Parliament in Cape Town are demanding action after being kept awake by overnight reconstruction noise. Tersia Erasmus, a local resident, criticised the lack of prior notice, saying: ‘They didn’t make the public aware that this was going to happen, they just started working.’

Residents near Cape Town’s Parliament National Assembly have launched a petition to halt disruptive construction noise. The work, which began more than a month ago and occurs nightly between midnight and 4am, has left locals unable to sleep. They say that no prior notice was given about the disturbance.

The reconstruction comes after a fire tore through Parliament in Cape Town on 2 January 2022, destroying the National Assembly chamber and parts of the Old Assembly. Investigators linked the blaze to arson, with Zandile Mafe arrested and charged.

Read more: Major fire wracks Parliament building, raising questions about why no protection services staff were on duty

Parliament secured more than R2-billion for reconstruction of the damaged buildings and R118-million for unforeseen expenditures due to the fire and Covid-19, in collaboration with the National Treasury.

Parliament partnered with the Development Bank of South Africa to rebuild its damaged infrastructure. The project includes refurbishing the Old Assembly and National Assembly buildings, clearing rubble for assessments, and remodeling 155 offices at 90 Plein Street to prepare for the MPs’ return. The bank will provide technical support, capacity development, and will oversee implementation.

A general view of the damage caused by the fire at Parliament in Cape Town. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)

Parliament in Cape Town Firefighters tackle the fire at Parliament on 3 January 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure was part of the rebuilding of Parliament, however, when Daily Maverick spoke to the department, spokesperson James de Villiers confirmed that the department was no longer involved.

“The project to reconstruct Parliament was handed over to Parliament under former Public Works and Infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille.

“Parliament then proceeded to appoint the Development Bank of Southern Africa as the implementing agent for the reconstruction… the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is currently not involved in Parliament’s reconstruction,” said de Villiers.

Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo confirmed that Parliament had taken over the project and was “operating in an extraordinary manner to ensure the successful and timely completion of the rebuilding project”.

Residents unable to sleep

However, the reconstruction work will continue until 2026, and residents living at St Martini Gardens near Parliament have had sleepless nights. Parliament and St Martini Gardens are opposite each other, with the Cape Town garden in between.

A resident who wanted anonymity started the petition and told Daily Maverick that it had been difficult to conduct business and stay near Parliament due to the noise.

“Knowing how many people are being affected, I started the petition hoping it can serve as a means for local residents to be heard as a collective.

“We have an apartment at St Martini Gardens that we rent out as a means to earn extra income. One morning after checking in a new guest, we received a message that she had decided to cancel her two-week reservation because of unbearable construction noise right through the night. This was the first of numerous complaints,” said the resident.

Daily Maverick can confirm that construction work at Parliament is still under way, and the construction company has not yet closed for the holidays.

Tersia Eramus, another resident who lives in St Martini Gardens, contributed to the petition, hoping for a change after she refunded a guest at her Airbnb due to the noise.

Erasmus said that the construction was a concern for the broader hospitality industry, pointing to the various hotels and restaurants in the area, including the Piazza Hotel. With the festive season fast approaching, there was concern that this would affect revenue streams.

Exempt from national building regulations

“They (Parliament) didn’t make the public aware that this was going to happen, they just started working. They are exempt from national building regulations that include noisy work and the hours that you do that — that was the initial response that we got,” says Erasmus after reaching out to Parliament.

Ward councillor Ian McMahon confirmed that Evan Solomons, the principal building inspector, had initially shrugged off complaints.

“When informed, I reached out to our building inspection department and was sent the following: The state is exempt from the National Building Regulations so we do not regulate any construction activity there,” said McMahon.

Meanwhile, Mothapo said that “we take each concern seriously”.

Another resident who wanted anonymity told Daily Maverick that he had been trying to get people to sign the petition because people were losing bookings.

“The noise and then the ratings are bad, and when people say it’s noisy it is true. You can’t sleep, people leave early and they leave bad reviews, and it’s affecting the business with the Airbnb,” said the resident.

“We still don’t know what the plan is, what to expect or what’s going to happen next year. I know that this project runs into 2026, so that means it will have an impact for the whole year,” said Erasmus.

While construction has shifted to daytime hours for the past week, Erasmus said there was still concern that it would start up again at night without notice.

“We know they have to repair Parliament, but it would be great to be given notice and to know what we are in for, and taking into consideration that people need to sleep,” she said.

Parliament gave an assurance that it was “committed to improved communication moving forward” including issuing “notice of construction activities, particularly those likely to impact the surrounding areas”, said Mothapo.

“The demolition work will pause on 20 December and resume on 6 January 2025,” said Mothapo. “This phase is nearing completion and is on track to conclude by the end of January 2025.”

A temporary home for Parliament

With the reconstruction of Parliament set to continue into 2026, construction for an interim home for Parliament has begun.

A dome will be set up over the next 24 days at the Niewmeester parking site within the parliamentary precinct.

The site, along with eight 12-metre containers carrying all the necessary accessories and parts that were transported from the defence force storage facility in Pretoria to Cape Town, were handed over on 17 December to commence construction by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s director-general, Sifiso Mdakane.

The dome is set to be completed before the opening of Parliament in 2025. DM

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South Africa

Residents unable to sleep

Exempt from national building regulations

A temporary home for Parliament