Residents at a recent Woodstock open day tabled their concerns and urged the City to prioritise social housing where public land is discounted and to publish explicit unit ratios and subsidy plans, reports Cape {town} Etc.
According to the Cape Argus Ute Kuhlmann, chairperson of the Woodstock Residents Association, said: ‘The area urgently requires more family-friendly, affordable housing.’
Cape Town City Council approved the sale of the Fruit and Veg site on the edge of District Six in August to developer YG Group for just over R10 million, clearing the way for a mixed-use project that will deliver 375 residential units, of which 237 will be social housing.
Other sites include Pine Road and Dillon Lane in Woodstock and Woodstock Hospital.
The social housing yield depends on once-off subsidies channelled via the Social Housing Regulatory Authority.
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WRA outlined its concerns about unit ratios and the disposal of public land:
- Public land sold at a discounted rate should be used predominantly for social housing.
- The proposed mixes are ‘upside down’, social housing ought to make up the majority (for example, 700 social housing units to 300 market-related units at Salt River Market, according to a Human Settlements official).
- Officials have clarified that the ‘market units’ at Salt River and New Market will, in fact, meet the legal definition of affordable housing rather than being full market-rate homes.
- The City, social housing institutions and private investors must be held publicly accountable.
- The City should communicate clearly so the public can ensure those commitments are met.
- On the Pickwick development, it said: ‘Plans include 840 social housing apartments and 940 ‘open market’ units.’
It is unclear how many ‘open market’ units will actually be affordable.
City officials note the Fruit and Veg site forms part of a wider programme to unlock well-located land for affordable rental housing, with 21 City-owned parcels earmarked for similar projects and about 12 000 affordable units currently in the pipeline.
Officials said the City will build at some sites without direct state subsidies to reduce reliance on national funding.
Advocates and residents have asked council to publish clear income bands, rental levels and subsidy commitments so that regeneration benefits existing communities as well as new residents.
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Also read:
D-Day for public comment on plans for old Woodstock Hospital site
Picture: Cllr Ian McMahon / Facebook
