CBBRA Objection to lease of public open space to WCPG and CBBC / CBPPS Partitioned Proposal

The Regional Head: Property Holding (Cape Town Region)

City of Cape Town

Box 4557

Cape Town 8000

ATTN: Mr Donavon Geysman 

Per: Donavon.geysman@capetown.gov.za

Dear Mr Geysman

PROPOSED LEASE OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACE TO THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL

GOVERNMENT (WCPG) ERVEN 601, REM 605, REM 17, PORTION 2457, PORTION REM 188, PORTION ERF 187

& PORTION 215

LOCATION: THE DRIVE

SUBURB: CAMPS BAY

The CBRRA, as the sole constituted and City-accredited ratepayer association in the suburb and environs, strongly objects to this application.

The CBRRA will set out its objections hereunder and will, further, propose an alternative lease option that it firmly believes will be in the better interests of the community, the Camps Bay Preparatory School (CBPS, the ultimate intended beneficiary of the proposed lease) and the Camps Bay Bowling Club (CBBC, the current lessee of the abovementioned land). For ease, the various erven detailed above shall be referred to as the Property.

The CBRRA fully understands the space constraints currently experienced by the CBPS and supports its efforts to expand onto extended, suitable land, of which a portion of the Property would be ideal.

However, the CBBC has shown itself to be a viable and sustainable sports club, with a substantial

investment in improvements on the Property and which certainly has a powerful right to its existing lease.

The CBBC also serves the residents of Camps Bay by allowing its facilities to be used by the community. It must be noted that as recently as late 2012, the City’s 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. The perceived circumstances surrounding this apparent sea change in approach by the City will not be dealt with in this submission.

The CBBC and its requirements:

It has been clearly established that the CBBC has been in existence for almost a century and has a

proud record as a successful sporting body and of being a force to reckon with on the bowling greens

of the Province. The honours boards adorning the walls of the club detail a virtual history of Camps Bay and its residents. At a time when this sport is not as enthusiastically supported as in the past, the

CBBC is one of the few clubs that is actually growing in membership. The City has an obligation to

support this trend.

• As a club that competes in WPBA open competitions, the CBBC must continue to have two operational bowling greens and sufficient parking to serve both its members and visitors, particularly visiting bowling teams. The parking in the village area of Camps Bay is already woefully insufficient in terms of the number of visitors to the area in general.
• As a club that has been assessed and found to be viable and sustainable, it is essential that the CBBC retain the necessary infrastructure to allow its continued existence and current growth. This, in CBRRA’s opinion, must include for a functions hall, suitable recreation/seating area, a dedicated members social area, in terms of its valid liquor license, and associated ablution facilities.

The CBPS and its requirements: 

It is common cause that the CBPS has become a sought after educational facility and has had an

increased enrolment over the past years, to a point where many potential learners have to be turned

away annually.

• The minimum requirements of the CBPS in the short term are for at least two additional

classrooms and an assembly hall. Ideally, the CBPS would look to providing a further three

classrooms.

• The CBPS, due to the constraints of the existing campus, also requires a suitable play

and sport area.

The Camps Bay Community and its needs:

Camps Bay is a peri-urban suburb of Cape Town, formally established well over a century ago, with a

stable population whose demographic could be generally described as family residential with an age

spread from young to senior.

• Camps Bay has a need to accommodate its children in terms of adequate and sustainable

schooling facilities.

• Camps Bay has a need to accommodate its residents who enjoy the various sporting codes that

are on offer, including the well-established CBBC.

• Camps Bay has a desperate need for multi-usage Public Open Space (POS) to mitigate against

the dramatic increase in the built environment over the past decade or two. Communities have

a right to POS, which the City is bound to supply or, as in this case, preserve. It is vital to the

community to promote a “green lung” through the increasingly clogged central village.

• With the (over) development of the village area of Camps Bay, all multi-usage community

facilities have effectively all but completely disappeared. The City has an obligation to provide

such facilities to its ratepayers and citizens and the loss of the CBBC’s facilities and especially

its hall, to an authority such as the WCPG Education Department, which is not bound to provide

community facilities at all, is totally unacceptable to the residents of Camps Bay – especially in

the absence of a Camps Bay community civic centre.

• The CBBC, in its submission in this matter, has detailed the many and varied community

activities and gatherings that currently take place in the CBBC hall. The CBRRA considers that

this frequent usage of the hall, both by the CBBC and the many other community activities,

alone justifies its continued existence in its current form.

• The argument has been made that the hall could continue to serve the community, even if

under the control of the Education Department. This is only partially correct, as, in terms of the

SA Schools Act, no alcohol is allowed on school property. This will exclude most public

functions, weddings, social gatherings and parties, which are currently held at this venue.

The solution to the current requirements:

The CBRRA has addressed the situation and engaged extensively with all of the role players and is

firmly of the view that the Property be shared between the CBBC and the CBPS on a mutually-agreed

partitioned basis, tied to new lease agreements with the City that offer sustainability to both lessees.

Whereas, due to circumstance and time constraints, a full development plan is not available at this

time, a workable framework has been established with the tacit support of the various parties and their representatives. It is envisaged by CBRRA that a land requirement plan could be determined within two months of this date (given the unavailability of most representatives over the holiday period).

If this is successful, then it is proposed that an agreed, amended lease application be made by the

WCPG for consideration by the City. In any event, in a relatively short period of time, the affected

parties could, fairly easily, provide a workable solution for consideration by the City. This is, in

CBRRA’s opinion, an extremely worthwhile avenue to pursue.

It is submitted that the Provincial and Local Authorities must view any proposal, which enjoys the

support of all the affected parties in this matter, as preferable. In its current form, this application is

extremely one-sided and offensive to the community and, of course, the CBBC - and will, in all

likelihood, elicit strong opposition from many quarters with concomitant legal challenges.

This will not only cause unnecessary divisions in a closely-knit community but also ultimately be

counter-productive to the real needs of the various affected parties.

With reference to the attached plan, it is proposed that:

• The existing parking area, previously the third bowling green, be redeveloped to accommodate

school buildings (to be determined by the CBPS), a play/sport area of over 650m2 for the

learners and at least forty parking bays. The usage of the parking must be decided between the

CBPS and the CBBC – however, given the different times of usage of the respective parties,

this should be relatively easily resolved.

• The existing bar area be alienated from the CBBC lease area and be made available to the

CBPS. The CBBC may relocate this facility to an area on the north end of the parking area

adjacent to the western bowling green. It is anticipated that any such structure will be

constructed on a column and slab system so as to allow for vehicular parking underneath.

The financial implications thereof to be negotiated by the CBBC and the CBPS/WCPG.

• The existing two bowling greens and the hall remain in the lease portion of the CBBC

improvements. The alienated portion of the existing CBBC improvements will have to be totally

partitioned off from those remaining elements in order to comply with the relevant pieces of

legislation in the SA Schools Act regarding alcohol on school premises.

The advantages to the “partitioned” option:

• It will result in a “win-win” situation where the needs and requirements of the CBBC, the CBPS

and the community are reasonably satisfied.

• It will expedite the process of expanding the CBPS premises in that there will be CBBC and

CBRRA (community) support for the revised lease proposal, which should streamline the

process.

• It is assumed that, in the alternative to a partitioned option, the CBBC will defend its lease at all

costs. This will lead to lengthy and expensive appeal processes and objections at all stages of

the currently advertised lease proposal. Not only will the Property need to be re-zoned, but it

currently also consists of six different erven, each with its own unique restrictive title deed

conditions, which will have to be brought into conformity with the proposed usage. Although the

proposed partitioned option will require certain land usage amendments, it will be more easily

achieved without objecting parties delaying the process. Further, it is envisaged that the

affected parties will support temporary departures.

• The existing improvements on the Property rightfully belong to the CBBC. It is inconceivable

that the CBBC not be fully compensated for same, if the Property is alienated in favour of the

Education Department. There is presently no indication as to who will be responsible for an

amount that is estimated well in excess of R10m.

• The CBBC can rationalize the existing spread of its facilities that has built up over the years.

This will compel a better focus on its resources that will put it in a better position to motivate a

renewal of its lease with the City when the current lease expires.

• The community will retain a vital piece of POS which will benefit all residents of all ages and

offer a sanctuary for its senior citizens – which is also their constitutional right – as well as

providing an acceptable community meeting venue.

• It is unrealistic to lease over 6700m2 to the CBPS, especially as it already occupies

approximately 2780m2 on the neighbouring school property. The maintenance of such a large

piece of land, including market-related rental to the City, renders the proposal non-viable. In a

time of austerity, as frequently claimed by the WCPG, it is clearly unsustainable to embark

upon such unnecessary expenditure.

• It is unclear as to the financial responsibility for any new improvements to the Property should

the advertised lease option be accepted, given that the lease is only for a 10 year period. The

CBPS would surely need major improvements to the Property if granted over 6700m2 of land.

• It is submitted that it would be a tremendous waste of a scarce public resource to simply

transfer this large Property to a party that does not need the entire area when a portion thereof

will suffice and there exists a critical need for the remainder by both the CBBC and the

community.

• The synergy of the children and the senior citizens of Camps Bay sharing an historic and

invaluable piece of land in the centre of the village is inescapable and will reflect the vision of

our sadly departed Madiba, who placed such a high value on a shared vision for this country.

The CBRRA respectfully requests that the assessment process that will follow this public participation process be held over to allow for meaningful discussions between the parties, which the CBRRA hereby offers to facilitate.

Given the potentially long road that this application might have to follow, it makes sense to explore a “win-win” option that could dramatically reduce this time frame and be beneficial to all parties.

Regards

CHRIS WILLEMSE

CHAIRPERSON

CBRRA contact: Chris Willemse Mobile 0836536363 Fax 086 626 1636