Letter to the Premier, Helen Zille: Alienation of City owned land for Educational purposes

26 August 2013
Ms Helen Zille
Premier of the Western Cape
Provincial Buildings
Wale Street
Cape Town
8001

Dear Premier Zille

ALIENATION OF CITY OWNED LAND FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, CAMPS BAY

For a considerable time now, The Camps Ratepayers and Residents Association (CBRRA) has been attempting to assist the Camps Bay Preparatory School (CBPS) and the Camps Bay Bowling Club (CBBC) to arrive at a workable compromise in respect of the mutually beneficial use of the City land which is leased from the City by the CBBC. While it is common cause, at first glance, that the CBPS is turning away many applicants due to “lack of space” and the CBBC is perceived to be unsustainable and allegedly underutilizing its leased property area, the circumstances surrounding the above conclusions need to be carefully examined in respect of their accuracy.

It is with growing alarm that the CBRRA reads and hears that your office is allegedly in support of the City of Cape Town, through representations by the Education Ministry and WC Education Department (WCED), unilaterally cancelling the CBBC lease with the intention of alienating this large portion of land in central Camps Bay for future educational purposes, viz for the specific and sole use by the CBPS.  (See attached document).
Of further concern is that as recently as October 2012, the (then) Mayco member for Community Services, Tandeka Gqada, had publicly announced that the CBBC is a sustainable sporting club and that the City would not interfere with a valid, legal lease agreement. Again, in March 2013, the City confirmed the validity of the CBBC’s lease.

In terms of background to this matter, please note the following:
The CBRRA accepts that both the CBBC and the CBPS have needs that can be better served by a rationalization of the usage of the property concerned, with the intention of finding a shared option. The CBPS is in need of a certain amount of land for expansion and the CBBC could well reconfigure its needs to accommodate the CBPS. To this end, many meetings, discussions and planning sessions were held last year. These interactions progressed to the “buy-in” by the DA councillor for the Ward and the DA MPL for the area and to an advanced sketch plan stage. Sadly, a small grouping of concerned parents (CPG), purporting to represent the school, did an about-turn and have publically vowed to annex the entire property with the concomitant demise of an active and sustainable sports club. Not only is the CBRRA, in representing the community, totally opposed to this stratagem, but also the CBBC is quite rightly reluctant to enter into any further negotiations in the face of this attitude.

The CBRRA is still firmly in favour of a shared solution and will, with the encouragement of the City and Provincial Governments, continue to use its position as the only community based organization in the suburb to achieve what is considered amongst the majority of ratepayers as a “win-win” situation. Through sharing, a synergy between (relatively) senior and younger members of the community is envisaged. This has to be first prize.

We believe that it will set a dangerous precedent in land matters if such unilateral actions are accommodated without any reference to the opinions and needs of the community and indeed, a proper public participation process. Clearly, this would smack of political interference of the greatest order and be at a complete variance with stated DA policy, as the voters of Camps Bay read it.

It is also completely unsustainable for the WCED to annex over 6000m2 of prime public open space to the general exclusion of the needs and requirements of the community as a whole.
A sporting club that has recently been assessed as sustainable by the City, as well as catering for other activities such as karate, Pilates, bridge, various dancing codes and community activities on an on-going daily basis uses this land.

Not only this, but the land is not zoned as a single entity and is further regulated by six different title deeds with a raft of individual restrictions that may not be summarily expunged or amended. There is also a public right of way servitude registered over the property.
The legal implications for the rezoning of this land, in order that it may be alienated for the use by the Education Department, are extremely onerous and will take many years to complete, even in the face of total community support for the process – which it doesn’t currently enjoy.

It is the opinion of the CBRRA that a shared option between the various parties, preferably facilitated by the CBRRA, is the only rational solution to this matter.

Your support, as Premier of the Western Cape, for a fair and equitable, community-based solution is sought in this instance, as well as the co-operation of the various other departments of the Authorities concerned.

In the event that the CPG of Camps Bay has misrepresented the situation vis-a-vis your offices’ involvement in this matter, then the CBRRA apologizes for its statement in this letter but, again, requests your support as per the above paragraph, in order that a sensible, sustainable and acceptable solution can be attained for a problem that clearly is not going to go away.

Kind regards

Chris Willemse
Chair: CBRRA


ATTACHMENT: 1

EXTRACT FROM CONCERNED PARENTS GROUP FACEBOOK PAGE

Things are looking hopeful for 2014! Premier Helen Zille and the Western Cape Education Department have indicated that the expansion project has their full support. The City has also agreed in principle to support the project but has not given notice to the Bowling Club – this is what is still preventing the expansion from going ahead.

For the expansion to happen for next year, the City must give notice to the bowling club ideally by the 1st of June (so that they vacate by the 1st of September this year), or at the very latest by 1st August (to vacate 1st November). This would give the school time to conduct the necessary inspections, begin renovations and open for 2014.

Although aware of the above deadlines, the City has not committed to any dates for the project or even to a date for a progress report. The Camps Bay School expansion team and CPG therefore appeal to all of you to be ready to assist with a possible publicity campaign/protest action – watch this space!

If the expansion goes ahead, the school will also need parents to assist with the renovation at very short notice towards the end of this year and into January. Assistance from anyone with building, renovation or project management skills or contacts would be hugely appreciated – please stand by to help! We’ll keep you posted.