CBRRA meet with MEC Debbie Schafer re CBBC and CBPS shared option

PROPOSED LEASE OF CITY LAND TO THE CAMPS BAY PREP SCHOOL

CBRRA Position

In certain aspects, a bitter history has developed between the school and club in this matter and some less than sensible accusations have been leveled. However, this is history and we all need to move on to a sensible and sustainable solution to the problem.

The CBRRA, as the only duly constituted and mandated ratepayers’ association in the Camps Bay area has taken the position of an impartial and honest broker in this matter with the future well being of the school, club and community in mind. It has applied its mind and consulted extensively with the school and bowling club and referred this matter to its last public meeting, where the community voted overwhelmingly in favour of the CBRRA shared/partitioned proposal which seeks to benefit all parties and make the most sense in terms of the constraints of the local and provincial authorities.

The CBRRA is of the considered opinion that a shared and partitioned land option is the correct one based on the following:

ADVANTAGES

• Speed is the key. The school will be able to move onto its allocated portion of the land in a relatively short period of time. If all parties are in agreement (including the City and PGWC), then there should be no real impediment to a temporary lease being granted whilst the more lengthy land use matters are processed. The school has indicated that it requires the land sooner rather than later.
• Whereas the school hasn’t provided the CBRRA with sufficiently detailed figures to substantiate its actual requirements, it was agreed by all parties that three more classrooms and a playground is required. The shared/partitioned option provides over 650m² of play area and the potential for at least 5 more classrooms and the existing ablution facilities. There will also still be additional buildings that can be converted into ancillaries such as a kitchen, sick room etc. It also provides formal parking for the school and club.
• More land than what the school originally stated that it required is being offered in this option. The school certainly hasn’t justified the use of 6000m² of additional land and the associated congestion, like traffic, that would result from the greater development of the land is totally unacceptable given the current congested conditions in that area. The CBRRA is currently negotiating with Pick n Pay to rationalize its delivery method and schedule, as the main sufferers of the diesel fumes exhausted by the long queues of delivery trucks are the school children and teachers.
• Another concern is that there is no indication that a dramatically increased Prep school enrolment can properly filter through to the Primary and High school.
• The shared/partitioned option offers long-term stability and sustainability to the land; and both the school and club derive maximum benefit whilst the community retains its green belt and community centre. Camps Bay has no other community venue for kiddies parties, dances, 21st parties, weddings and wakes etc. Under the shared/partitioned option, the Schools’ Act will prohibit the use of the hall if alcohol is consumed, so very few functions will be permitted. Of course, the hall is also used for many other community activities, many of which are held during the day. The school cannot guarantee that the hall will be available at these times if, indeed, it needs the hall as desperately as it claims.
• The City (through Deputy Mayor Neilson) has clearly stated that this is a non-renewable lease and that the school must sort itself out within the 10-year lease period – which means the Education Department will have to commit extensive capital to develop one of the existing Camps Bay school sites. This shared/partitioned option can keep both the school and club on City-leased land and if the synergy between the young and old of the community works, as we are sure it will, then this can be maintained into the future. The entire community and all its component groupings will then benefit.
• One bit of history: The school reps indicated in September 2013 that they were interested in the shared option and this lead to the CBRRA developing this shared/partitioned proposal, which was presented to them shortly thereafter, once it was workshopped and agreed to by the club which is, after all, the lessee of the land. The school representatives seemed to be in favour of this option at the time.
• This is a win-win situation for the school, community, club, Education Department and City - and will benefit all in the long run. We cannot see any real disadvantages to the abovementioned role-players if this option is adopted.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE CURRENT MAYCO RECOMMENDATION

• The City officials’ report totally failed to audit or interrogate the school’s actual needs in terms of numbers and land requirements. This renders it susceptible to legal challenge and concomitant time loss.
• The Mayco recommendation to full Council similarly fails to ascertain exact needs, but then recommends a course of action that fails to acknowledge the right of the club to exist. The club was, as recently as December 2012, assessed and audited by the City and found to be sustainable and in good standing.  This could be construed as irrational.
• Deputy Mayor Neilson has further stated that the reason for the Mayco ignoring the shared option was that the school needed all the buildings available due to financial constraints. It is a contested legal point as to whether and how much compensation needs to be paid for the club’s buildings. However, given that the club built and paid for its buildings assets, it is clearly immoral to make an effective executive decision to steal another’s property. Expropriation without compensation is a principle the DA fights for at all levels and it should be no different in this case. Of further concern is that the school’s representatives have repeatedly stated that they have funding in the order of over R1m to effect the necessary works if a shared option was agreed.
• The extensive land use processes, which will have to be pursued and approved prior to the club being evicted and the school moving onto the premises will be protracted if all parties do not buy into the process. The EIA report can take many years if challenged at all of its levels and, in fact, might not even return a positive recommendation. It is an inescapable reality that this will result in attrition on all sides, with the lose-lose scenario being the most likely outcome for school, club and community.

However, if all of the above is taken into account and if the necessary political will and community support is in place, Camps Bay can be the beneficiary of a properly considered political decision that makes community sense.

Madame Minister, we call on you to facilitate that decision.

Chris Willemse

Chair CBRRA

02 June 2014