Oakland City Development will destroy Philippi’s farming, say activists

The proposed urban development of the 479-hectares of land in Cape Town’s Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) could cause “irreplaceable loss of significant and fertile agricultural land”. This is according to members of the PHA Food and Farming Campaign who believe that the Oakland City Development could potentially destroy farming on the land and dry up the Cape Flats Aquifer and food security.

The Campaign wants the land to be used for agricultural purposes.

The development initially proposed housing for 15,000 families, schools, commercial, and industrial facilities, and the remaining land for conservation.

The City of Cape Town initially applied to the Department of Agriculture in 2009 to change part of the land from “horticultural use” to “urban development”. However, the department denied the application. The City then rezoned the area in its 2012 Spatial Development Framework and the development site now falls within the urban edge of the greater PHA.

In February 2020, the Western Cape high court ordered Anton Bredell, MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, to reconsider the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The court also ordered that proper public participation be done. Comments from the public on the development’s EIA closed on 24 February 2021.

The new EIA report is expected to be submitted to Bredell this week.