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Tuesday 5 April 2011
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Bo-Kaap residents say ultra-modern flats are not in keeping with the area
‘Out with the new’ VERNA VAN DIEMEN
B
O-KAAP residents have met to plot their opposition to a four-storey block of flats earmarked for Lion Street. About 40 neighbours met on Wednesday at the St Paul’s Church office to express their objection to the residential block of flats, which will contain 12 units, a basement and a parking area. Their objection is based mostly on the size of the development, as well as its ultra-modern design, which they say is not in keeping with the area’s character. Osman Shaboodien, the chairperson of the Bo-Kaap Civic Association, organised the meeting.“We want to make it clear that we are not against development in the area. We just feel that the space is inappropriate for the size of the building, and that the design will stick out like a sore thumb,” he says. John Meddick, the developer, expressed shock when the People’s Post called him about the meeting. Meddick says he had been working closely with the City’s heritage department so that he could avoid unhappiness by residents. “It’s crazy. We have been working with the heritage department and have been advised to do things this way,” he says. Meddick says the plot was originally zoned for seven storeys, and that the heritage department had added more glass to the original design when it was consulted by his architects. “If I wanted to do this for the sake of money then we would have gone for seven storeys. In addition to this, the heritage department suggested we add more glass as part of their suggested adjustments so that the building would look similar to a building in Buitenkant Street,” he says. Meddick, who runs a consulting business, has teamed up with a friend from the United Kingdom, who owns a flooring company, to establish Chinwa, a close corporation. This is the new company’s first venture. “I am not a developer. This is the first time that I am doing something like this,” he says. Joanna Tomkins, a Bryant Street resident whose back yard will face the development, says residents want the development downsized. “We are not opposing something being built on that plot, but rather we want them to decrease the footprint, which will automa-
CESSPOOL: The empty plot on which the construction of a block of flats is being proposed has become a dumping ground for dirt and a haven for criminals and vagrants. Photo: Verna van Diemen tically force them to come down a storey or two,” she said. Tomkins says there were architects at the meeting who offered residents technical advice. “We will be drafting a letter in a legal fashion from the community to the City, and a few residents will object in their private capacity,” she says. Residents feel that the City has not been transparent enough with the notices of the public participation process. “The only reason I know about the development is because I have been in contact with the developer to clean up the vacant plot, which is disgusting. I have even had problems with rats. He told me that he would be developing the plot soon and I asked for the details,” she says. There are two A4 notices – in Afrikaans and English – about the development up on the fence around the vacant plot. These give a short description of the planned development and the contact details for objections. Tomkins says the City and the developer withheld information about the specifics of the development. “We want to know why it was not advertised in the community newspapers? We want the City and the developer to respect our servitude in every detail. Not
AVANTGARDE: An artist’s impression of the proposed building, which residents feel is too ultramodern for BoKaap’s architectural style.
just our right to object, but our right to approve,” says Tomkins. The community will also ask why there are 16 zoning departure applications. Meddick says the heritage department had advised them to position the block of flats next to the road for better access and to make it fit into the character of Bo-Kaap homes, which are built up to the property boundaries, close to the road. A park and a public area will be built between the current plot and an adjoining one, says Meddick. Osman Asmal, director of environmental resource management, says it would be irresponsible to pre-empt this assessment process because the application for departures circulated to his department for comment, and was currently under review with the land use management department and various other departments within the city. “The City of Cape Town needs to ensure a thorough and correct process of assessment. This process will lead to an answer on whether the City will support or refuse this application.” Last year the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) submitted a proposal to the National Heritage Council to declare the area a national heritage site. In addition, the City was considering con-
verting the suburb – which is home to the oldest community in the CBD – to an urban conservation area. This meant that the area will retain its original and unique character. Ward Councillor Belinda Walker says the development is “worrying”. She says the process to declare the Bo-Kaap a conservation area has been “going on for years because not all residents are in favour of such a proposal”. “Everyone must buy into the idea. Some residents do and some don’t in this case. It means that people have to accept that their rights to alter their homes will be restricted,” said Walker. “The area also has to be defined and that poses some difficulty with the different architectural styles in the area,” she says. “The development is out of scale. The land is zoned to allow construction of up to seven floors. Although it would be within the developer’s rights to build up to seven storeys, because of the zoning, the visual impact would be out of sync with the rest of the area. There are no buildings as high as this one in BoKaap,” she said. People’s Post tried to contact Marian Nieuwoudt, Mayoral Committee member for Planning and Environment for comment ,but she did not respond by the time of going to print.
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