The District Six community has until Friday July 14 to comment on a proposed homeless shelter for the area.
The provincial Department of Social Development (DSD) has identified the vacant Tafelberg Crèche as a site for a homeless shelter.
The mixed double- and triple-storey building is owned by the provincial Department of Infrastructure (DOI) and is located in Christiaan Street.
According to the provincial DSD spokesperson, Monique Mortlock-Malgas, the provincial government did consider a few site options but the former Tafelberg Crèche was identified as the most appropriate option for a shelter.
“This site proved to be most suitable in providing sufficient internal and external space in a more suitable arrangement to remodel as a shelter, all within close proximity to Cape Town city centre and existing shelter services,”she says.
Ms Mortlock-Malgas says the project will cost the provincial DSD R18.9 million and the provincial DOI whom they are working with has indicated that, at this stage, plans include the redesign of a kitchen, office space, bathroom facilities, and dormitories that can accommodate 100 homeless people.
Ms Mortlock-Malgas says the shelter will also seek to ensure social and economic skills of homeless adults are developed so they can find jobs and will look at ways to reunite beneficiaries with their families.
Various District Six organisations are not pleased with the plan to convert the old crèche into a shelter.
District Six Working Committee chairperson, Zahrah Nordien says while they are sympathetic to the plight of the homeless, they questioned why the government wants to make another shelter in District Six when there are three of them already.
“That Tafelberg Crèche can be utilised as a frail care centre for the elderly of the returnees of District Six or it can be utilised as a community hall for the people of District six,” she says.
Ms Nordien says that there are many areas outside of District where they can build homeless shelters and that the government must fast track the restitution process to get the elderly home to District Six.
The Soli Philander Foundation that helps with feeding schemes for the homeless in District Six, the City Bowl and various areas of the Cape Flats, said they were not informed on the plan.
Committee member of the foundation, Sharon van Schoor says the provincial government has public participation with people that don’t question their intent and how it negatively impacts on the people they supposedly serve. “None of the safe spaces in Cape Town works and now they are opening up another space,” she says.
District Six Civic Association chairperson, Asa Salie says they do not oppose the government trying to find beds for the homeless to sleep in, though questioned why it must be in District Six.
She says the provincial government had plans to turn the old abandoned Robbie Nurock Community Clinic into a shelter, then abandoned it due to an abestos problem, then later on it was revealed that the Provincial Government would turn it into a Cape Town museum.
Ms Salie says during apartheid the Tafelberg Crèche, which was also called the Silvertree Crèche, was an indoor sport clubhouse for boxing, table tennis, gymnastics and rugby club meetings.
She says after the Group Areas Act came into law, the numbers dwindled at the site due to the community being forced out. She says District Six needed a place where people can heal and develop the youth holistically and that Silvertree/Tafelberg Creche, was the answer.
The City’s Mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment, Eddie Andrews says the department has not made a planning application to build a homeless shelter on the site.
“Given the zoning of the site, a land use application would need to be submitted to and approved by the City to permit a homeless shelter on the site.”
However, spokesperson for the provincial DOI, Muneera Allie says the property has a split zoning of where under the General Residential 4 Zoning, it permits a dwelling house, second dwelling, group housing, boarding house, guest house, flats, private road and open space. Ms Allie says the use of a homeless shelter will fall under the boarding house.
“It therefore appears that a Land Use Management submission may not be needed.However, this is to be confirmed by the City of Cape Town,” she says.
As part of the public consultation process, residents, stakeholders or interested groups may make written submissions to the Head of Department of Social Development on or before Friday July 14, via e-mail to melissa.abrahams@westerncape.gov.za or hand delivered to Union House, 14 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town.
