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Displaying the 30 latest comments.
Submitted | first-name | support | concern | top-concern | message |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2026-08-22 21:27:59 +02:00 | dagny | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | |
2026-08-21 11:03:32 +02:00 | Nicole | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of public land and open space | |
2026-08-21 08:46:03 +02:00 | Anna | Yes I do | No concern, I Support the Development | ||
2026-08-19 23:11:16 +02:00 | Madelein | No I do not | All of the above | Environmental and ecological threats to the Black River wetland | |
2026-08-19 21:53:02 +02:00 | Natalie | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | The mass defacing of Cape Town and the historic and natural heritage has to be stopped. Every bit that is lost to unscrupulous development, can never be remedied, never be reversed. The negative social and cultural impact on heritage citizens of the Cape Province is unforgivable. |
2026-08-19 18:08:37 +02:00 | David | No I do not | All of the above | No area-wide heritage assessment for the Two Rivers corridor | |
2026-08-19 00:10:52 +02:00 | Jackie | No I do not | All of the above | Environmental and ecological threats to the Black River wetland | |
2026-08-18 19:46:43 +02:00 | Riana | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of public land and open space | |
2026-08-18 16:22:05 +02:00 | Annie | No I do not | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | ||
2026-08-18 15:59:13 +02:00 | Geoff | No I do not | Cumulative development pressure on local infrastructure | ||
2026-08-18 14:28:45 +02:00 | Quintin | No I do not | Procedural flaws, misleading visuals & constrained public oversight | I object to the proposed rezoning and high-density redevelopment of the Oude Molen Precinct. As a local Cape Town resident, I do not support replacing a long-established, low-density green and community-oriented area with a development of this scale, reportedly including approximately 1,364 residential units, commercial space and retail infrastructure. The City must not approve a land-use application while the underlying heritage process remains unresolved. Heritage Western Cape’s Appeals Committee reportedly dismissed the applicant’s appeal on 10 June 2026 and upheld the refusal of the Heritage Impact Assessment for non-compliance with section 38(3) of the National Heritage Resources Act. Proceeding with rezoning despite that outcome undermines lawful, integrated planning and public confidence in the process. I am also concerned that the public-participation process has not enabled residents to make properly informed comments. The plans, models and illustrations made available must accurately show the maximum permitted height, bulk, density, traffic implications, parking provision, service demands and environmental effects, not merely an aspirational version of the proposal. Residents are entitled to clear, complete and accessible information before their submissions can be fairly considered. This proposal would place further pressure on already constrained local roads, public transport, water and sanitation systems, electricity infrastructure, schools, health services, parking, safety and the character of surrounding neighbourhoods. The City has a duty to assess cumulative impacts, not consider this development in isolation. Development should serve existing and future residents without creating unacceptable congestion, overcrowding or loss of local amenity. Oude Molen has heritage, ecological, cultural and community value that cannot simply be treated as vacant development land. Community concerns include the possible loss of longstanding social, ecological and community-based activity, while the provincial redevelopment vision itself acknowledges that the site contains significant environmental and heritage elements. I therefore request that the City of Cape Town refuse the rezoning application in its current form. At minimum, the application should be withdrawn or suspended until a legally compliant heritage process is concluded, all supporting studies are independently scrutinised and publicly available, and meaningful consultation occurs with affected residents, tenants, community organisations and interested parties. | |
2026-08-18 11:07:37 +02:00 | Nor | Not fully | All of the above | No area-wide heritage assessment for the Two Rivers corridor | Firstly the zone needs cleaning up of trash. Horses, mules and other animals will die eating plastics. I'm not of the Cape and not a linguist but do see problems. How can folk live inside a trash bin? Throw away your trash and not on the ground, as it is just so easy to do, me? Everyone needs a space to live? Look after |
2026-08-18 09:29:58 +02:00 | Chris | No I do not | Predetermination of outcomes by officials | Da can go to hell | |
2026-08-17 15:43:42 +02:00 | Andal Nalini | No I do not | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | Lets look at Riverland. All we see is buildings Lets save nature what is left of. Next the public parks will disappear | |
2026-08-17 12:10:31 +02:00 | Faisal | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | |
2026-08-17 10:59:09 +02:00 | Kim | No I do not | All of the above | Predetermination of outcomes by officials | |
2026-08-17 10:50:38 +02:00 | Jaco | No I do not | All of the above | Predetermination of outcomes by officials | The City of Cape Town is literally bullying its way into the selling of public lands to "developers" without ANY due process. Upgrade the existing areas, i.e. Cape Flats. Don't create new infrastructure and traffic problems. |
2026-08-17 10:13:25 +02:00 | Lisa | No I do not | Environmental and ecological threats to the Black River wetland | No further developments or data centers should be considered. We do not have enough water to sustain the people already living here permanently. If government wants to create additional housing start with all the government owned (public works) buildings that are vacant and deteriorating beyond use. The area has already been destroyed so might as well use the buildings already there, the West coast has many vacant buildings that can be made available for such projects. however we need to cap how many people come to live here until we have managed the water crises. the first step is to cancel any talks related to data centers and the Phelen "green" project which is just a waste of precious water. | |
2026-08-17 09:19:56 +02:00 | Gail | No I do not | Environmental and ecological threats to the Black River wetland | ||
2026-08-17 08:09:20 +02:00 | Julie | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | The City of Cape Town is literally bullying its way into the selling of public lands to "developers" without ANY due process. But still, all the shacks are still there on the flats. Go develop something else than ANOTHER mall with the same banners. Super greedy administration with no respect for laws or communities. |
2026-08-17 07:58:57 +02:00 | Marius | No I do not | Loss of public land and open space | ||
2026-08-17 05:59:21 +02:00 | Drew | No I do not | All of the above | Environmental and ecological threats to the Black River wetland | |
2026-08-17 00:56:57 +02:00 | Clive | No I do not | Unverified, non-binding affordable housing claims | ||
2026-08-16 20:24:50 +02:00 | Lee | No I do not | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | This high density development is just a few hundred metres from another high density development, the king David golf course. The city has not clearly thought of how the effect of thousands of new households crammed into space will affect the traffic coming into and out of Pinelands and Maitland, the desperate lack of schools (both high school and primary school) water supply, and many other resources in short supply. Furthermore, building on the green spaces increases water runoff not soaking into ground water, increases temperature by city densification and removal of green spaces ,decreases air quality with removal of trees and many more undesirable effects on nature. Just across the river close by is another high density development (Amazon development) and like this one, heritage has not been preserved with proper consultation with affected tribal parties either. | |
2026-08-16 12:47:36 +02:00 | Carol | No I do not | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | Cumulative development pressure on local infrastructure | The existing community at Oude Molen provides essential care, educational, therapeutic, and cultural services that depend entirely on the tranquil, semi-rural character of the site. These activities are a direct continuation of the 130-year-old institutional “continuity of purpose” belonging to the surrounding Valkenberg therapeutic landscape, which historically utilized land-based care and agricultural rehabilitation. Displacing the Robin Trust, the holistic schools, the eco-gardens, and the equestrian therapy facilities destroys a functioning social ecosystem that delivers immense public value. These living heritage resources have been completely excluded from the project’s social impact considerations. |
2026-08-16 11:49:23 +02:00 | Georgina | No I do not | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | ||
2026-08-16 08:34:43 +02:00 | Eva | No I do not | All of the above | Cumulative development pressure on local infrastructure | Procedures not being folllowed (heritage) and misleading images being presented (fooling the public) are both a red flag for me. I also cannot imagine how the roads around OudeMolden would handle more traffic. A real problem as is! Lastly, where will the schools and other small businesses go if they are being shoved out? The a city needs green spaces and small developments as well - despite the need for more housing. |
2026-08-16 00:40:32 +02:00 | Cornelius | No I do not | All of the above | Environmental and ecological threats to the Black River wetland | |
2026-08-15 21:09:07 +02:00 | Veronique | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity | |
2026-08-15 19:05:09 +02:00 | Jean | No I do not | All of the above | Loss of existing community ecosystem & historical continuity |
Undoing Spatial Apartheid: Proponents argue that Oude Molen represents a massive opportunity to utilize well-located, under-densified public land near economic centers to bring working-class families closer to the city and undo historical spatial segregation.
Social and Affordable Housing Delivery: The Western Cape Government highlights the proposed 34% allocation for social and affordable housing units as a major victory for addressing Cape Town’s acute housing crisis.
Economic Stimulus & Job Creation: Pushing forward with mixed-use spaces, commercial offices, and retail infrastructure will stimulate the local economy, bring financial investment into the area, and create thousands of direct construction and service jobs.
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Planners argue that maximizing residential density along the urban transport corridor (adjacent to key hospital and rail hubs) reduces urban sprawl and builds an efficient, sustainable city layout.
Unlawful Heritage Procedural Bypassing: Opponents argue it is completely unlawful to push for land use and rezoning approvals while the legally mandated Heritage Impact Assessment stands officially rejected by Heritage Western Cape for violating the NHRA.
Erasure of Living Heritage: Critics point out that the developers use a narrow, outdated definition of heritage that ignores “horizontal” community transmission and mistakes “archival silence” (the colonial omission of marginalized group records) for an absence of living culture and First Nations history.
Destruction of a Fragile Social Ecosystem: Pushing high-density concrete blocks will permanently displace a 30-year-old self-sustaining village of tenants providing invaluable, free public services, including the Robin Trust medical care, two holistic schools, eco-gardens, and equestrian therapy facilities for disabled children.
Unenforceable Affordable Housing Claims: Financial fine print within the framework indicates that the “one-third affordable housing” pledge is non-binding and completely contingent on future private developer financial feasibility study outcomes.
Misleading Master Plans & Constrained Oversight: While the development framework fixes maximum height and bulk parameters, the illustrations provided to the public fail to depict these maximums, masking the true density. Once these land-use parameters are approved, subsequent processes are entirely constrained within those maxima, leaving the public with severely limited scope to influence or alter the scale of development at later stages.