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People’s Post
The grounds formerly occupied by the Claremont Bowling Club may soon accommodate a 4X4 trail. PHOTO: THERESA SMITH
CLAREMONT
4x4 trail plan gears up NETTALIE VILJOEN NETTALIE.VILJOEN@MEDIA24.COM
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f all goes according to plan, Capetonians should be able to test their 4x4 vehicles’ mettle on the grounds formerly occupied by the Claremont Bowling Club by the end of the year. Rashaad Carlsen, the lessee of the vacant property in Bowwood in Claremont, says work on the project – to convert the land into a 4x4 trail sporting up to 23 obstacles – will begin as soon as the City of Cape Town approves the temporary departure land use application to permit the Claremont inAcity 4x4 adventure and amusement park to operate there. This is also when Carlsen’s lease, which he signed last year with the Claremont Beneficiary Trust (the owners of the property), officially takes effect. According to Carlsen, all of the service providers contracted to work on the project are standing by. He says once the City grants approval, each of the service providers (who will be working simultaneously) will have a month to complete their work. “As soon as we get the City’s approval, that
is when we activate. We will have one month to work like nobody’s business.” As to when the City will approve the application, Carlsen says they are hoping it will be sorted by the end of October. He explains that, even though the application was submitted in February, progress was slow due to all of the mandatory municipal red tape. On advisement, the services of a professional town planner, Andrew Pratt, was engaged and the application was withdrawn for a new one to be submitted. “The validity of the original application still stands, Mr Pratt has taken over the formal process. He will do it the way he does it and then submit the new application, hopefully by this week. I have been told that once this is done it will maybe take another 30 days and then we will be there,” adds Carlsen. A public participation process will first need to occur before approval can be granted. If approved, the temporary rezoning will be valid for five years. In an interview with People’s Post last week, councillor Marian Nieuwoudt, the Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, confirmed that a temporary departure land use application for erf 177827 was made in February but was subsequently
withdrawn in June. No new land use application has been submitted since. Nieuwoudt also confirmed that an application to demolish the clubhouse on the Claremont Bowling grounds was submitted and that the demolition permit was approved on 19 March. The lease agreement signed with the Claremont Beneficiary Trust stipulates that when the lessee vacates the property, the site has to be completely clear. Carlsen says although the clubhouse will eventually be demolished (the demolition permit is valid for three years), the immediate plan is to only break down part of the building and to refurbish the rest. Once revamped, it will serve as a restaurant and incorporate a play park where parents will be able to leave their children under supervision while completing the 4x4 trail. If and when the lessee’s occupation of the property exceeds the validity of the demolition permit, an application for an extension will be made. The same goes for the temporary rezoning. Zaahir Adams, the chair of the Claremont Beneficiary Trust, says the lease agreement is set up in such a way that should a developer want to take ownership of the grounds to build, the lessee will be given notice to vacate
the land. The trust is currently considering proposals from various developers. “At the moment, it is earmarked to put up flats. But we are still in negotiations. A lot still needs to be decided and once that is done, there will be the rezoning of the property which could take another two to three years. We can’t say how long it will take,” says Adams. For Carlsen, this allows him the opportunity to test the proof of concept – a 4x4 trail situated in the inner-city – while giving the trust the flexibility to move when they are ready. People’s Post last reported on the controversial property three years ago (“Who’s bowling now”, 28 November 2017). The former Claremont Bowling Club, which was at the centre of a land claims resolution processes which started in 1998, has stood vacant for many years with the clubhouse falling apart and vagrants moving in. The situation persisted even after the lands claim commission successfully transferred the land to the trust in June 2017, making it responsible for the maintenance and the future of the site. Toni Snow, a resident and one of the founders of the recently established Claremont Watch, says the property was cleared last month of the vagrants living there. V Continued on page 4.