Housing activists cautiously welcome City’s intention to repurpose golf course land, but stress need for public participation

2 Oct 2024

For years Reclaim the City and Ndifuna Ukwazi have been calling for leased golf courses to be used for social housing.

Housing activists have cautiously welcomed the City of Cape Town’s announcement that portions of the Mowbray Golf Course may be released for mixed-use development, including affordable housing.

On Tuesday, 1 October 2024, the City said a public participation process would commence, pending council approval this month.

This follows the expiration of the King David Mowbray Golf Club’s long-term lease in 2022, and a new 10-year lease signed in May 2024.

The current lease includes a two-year cancellation clause, “providing flexibility as the City undertakes the necessary planning for municipal infrastructure upgrades, including roads improvements, and enhancements to the electrical, and waste water treatment networks”, said the City.

Green light

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis stated: “While there is still much work ahead to service the land and plan for its long-term development, the green light to initiate a public participation process is a crucial step to release this land for inclusive, sustainable development.”

Housing activist group Ndifuna Ukwazi has been calling for the land’s development since 2019, when it published a report on the City’s leases.

The City said it had identified 43 hectares of land with a market value of R171-million, based on a valuation conducted in March.

The initial phase of redevelopment is for two main tracts of land – north of the railway line bordered by Pinelands and the Elsieskraal canal, and a second tract (not part of the golf course), bounded by the N2 and Jan Smuts Drive.

Land south of the railway line, which houses the golf clubhouse, faced significant accessibility challenges and would be considered in future phases, the City statement said.

Protest

In 2020, GroundUp also reported on the City’s decision to renew the lease of the Rondebosch Golf Club, despite calls for it to be used for social housing. We reported on a protest at the golf club by housing activists.

“It makes little sense to have 10 golf courses situated on well-located public land in the midst of our extreme housing and segregation crisis,” said Nick Budlender of Ndifuna Ukwazi, welcoming the Mowbray Golf Course announcement.

“Cape Town’s urban form is currently socially, environmentally and fiscally unsustainable, and pursuing a mixed-use, mixed-income development at Mowbray Golf Course including genuinely public green space therefore makes sense from multiple perspectives,” he said.

Bevil Lucas, of Reclaim the City, welcomed the news but stressed that public participation must be inclusive. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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