The City of Cape Town has completed R83 million worth of bulk infrastructure for the Protea Village restitution project in Bishopscourt, bringing 86 planned homes for displaced families closer to completion.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis joined members of the Protea Village community earlier today to mark the latest milestone, with the City also contributing municipal land valued at approximately R320 million towards the development.
The homes are expected to be completed in the latter part of 2027.
The project seeks to address the forced displacement of Protea Village residents under apartheid’s Group Areas Act between 1959 and 1970, enabling families to return to land connected to their community’s history.
A step towards restitution
Hill-Lewis said the development demonstrates how municipal land and infrastructure investment can support land restitution.
‘The City is proud to enable this project with the release of R320m in municipal land, alongside the completion of R83m in bulk infrastructure,’ he highlighted.
He added that the project could provide a model for future restitution programmes in South Africa, while addressing the effects of apartheid-era spatial planning.
The development is being driven by the Protea Village Communal Property Association (CPA), with the City providing infrastructure, planning and regulatory support. Bethel Partners is managing the development alongside a team of industry professionals.
CPA chairperson Andre Maxwell said the progress marked an important stage for families who had waited decades to return to their ancestral land.
‘For a community that has waited decades for restitution, this progress means an enormous amount. We are now another step closer to rebuilding Protea Village and finally returning home,’ Maxwell said.
He noted that further building approvals still needed to be secured before the project could progress to the next stage.
The project uses a cross-subsidisation model, under which open-market plots will be sold to help finance the 86 restitution homes, as the arrangement is also intended to generate ongoing annuity income for the Protea Village CPA.
The City’s contribution includes R83 million for civil and electrical bulk and link infrastructure, assistance with planning approvals, and post-development support.
The municipal land contribution includes Erf 212, which provides 50 serviced sites intended to support the cross-subsidisation model.
The project follows a successful land claim in 1995, as Erven 212 and 242 in Bishopscourt were awarded to the Protea Village CPA in 2006 through a formal settlement agreement involving the City, the national departments responsible for land reform and public works, and support from the City’s Human Settlements Department.
The land was transferred to the CPA on 15 June 2021, following a lengthy land-use rights process.
In its 14 October coverage, Cape {town} Etc examined the City’s affordable housing plans and the challenges of addressing apartheid-era spatial inequalities.
While the Protea Village project is specifically focused on land restitution, it similarly highlights the role of public land in determining who can live in established urban neighbourhoods.
The Bishopscourt development also includes plans to preserve four hectares of public greenbelt along the Liesbeek River. The City will manage this land, which the municipality says will provide environmental and community benefits.
Mayoral committee member for Human Settlements Councillor Carl Pophaim said cooperation among claimants had been central to the project’s progress.
With infrastructure work completed, the next steps include securing the outstanding building approvals and progressing construction towards the planned return of 86 families to Bishopscourt in 2027.
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Picture: CoCT/Supplied
