A proposed retirement village on PRASA-owned land in St James has raised concerns among residents over heritage protection and public amenities. The City says it has received no planning application for the development.
Plans for a retirement village on railway-owned land in St James have raised concerns among residents over the potential impact on the area's heritage and public amenities, with the City of Cape Town confirming it has received no planning application for the proposed development.
The proposed development, situated between St James railway station and the main road in the St James/Kalk Bay area, is among six Western Cape development opportunities awarded to private sector partners by PRASA's real estate company, Intersite, last month.
The six proposed developments are estimated to represent a combined investment of R3.6 billion.
However, residents have questioned the plans for the St James site, with concerns centring on its heritage status, the proposed buildings and the potential impact on the coastline.
Rex Schelling, representing concerned St James residents, said that, as far as they were aware, no planning or heritage applications had been lodged.
“Our approach is simple: assume nothing, work from facts, and follow due process. The site sits inside the Muizenberg–St James–Kalk Bay heritage overlay and includes City-graded heritage elements. Any development will need City planning approval, a Heritage Western Cape process and public participation. We have formally asked Intersite for information. Our legal team will also submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request for the details that have not been made public,” Schelling said.
He said residents were in contact with their ward councillor and the City's planning department, with a community meeting scheduled for Friday.
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were particularly concerned that the tender described the property as “vacant land and existing buildings”, without mentioning its heritage status or public amenities.
“The artist's impression Intersite released shows a near-continuous row of apartment blocks along the seafront, with three storeys of flats on columns over parking, on one of the most photographed stretches of the False Bay coast. The winning bidder is named only as ‘Kromkrans JV’, and its members have not been disclosed. Intersite announced the award on 7 October, yet there is no public statement from the City,” the resident said.
City confirms no development application received
City of Cape Town spokesperson Unathi Kondile said the City's Development Management Department had not received any land use application or application for a pre-submission meeting relating to the alleged St James development.
He said the department had also confirmed that it had not received any courtesy building plan submissions for Erven 88668 or 88434.
“Any proposed development of the site would be subject to the necessary statutory planning processes and approvals in terms of the City’s Municipal Planning By-law and all other applicable by-laws. A land use application would be required, should the proposal necessitate land use rights or departures from the existing approved rights,” Kondile said.
He said that, given the public interest importance of the matter, any such application would be widely advertised to give interested and affected parties, including local residents and community organisations, an opportunity to review the proposal and submit comments or objections.
“The city cannot comment any further as the Development Management Department has not received a development application. Neither can we comment on any potential impact on heritage resources, public amenities or access to facilities in the area, or the approvals that may ultimately be required,” Kondile said.
PRASA had not responded to questions sent by IOL Media at the time of publication. Its comment will be added once received.