The City of Cape Town has approved the rezoning application for the Salt River Market site. This will allow for the land to be developed for mixed-use purposes and will include 216 social housing units in addition to business and retail space.
This landmark decision to develop the Salt River Market site is crucial towards identifying affordable and well-located land close to the Cape Town city centre and other urban centres across the metro.
The approved rezoning application for the Salt River Market site will provide for 723 residential units, of which 216 will be social housing opportunities for qualifying beneficiaries, as well as business premises and informal trading and 119 parking bays.
The rezoning consolidates 13 erven into a larger piece of land which enables development. The developer now has a five-year period to act on the rights.
It must be emphasised that the development was never cancelled and today’s decision corrects the flaws that were contained in the original process where the land was sold without land use rights.
The COCT said in a statement: "This is part of our commitment to redress and of enabling our residents to have better access to employment opportunities."
The rezoning application for the site was approved by the Municipal Planning Tribunal in April 2019. The appeals period expired in June 2019 which saw two appeals being lodged.
The appeals report was referred to the Planning Appeals Committee today for a decision, which rejected the appeals. The appeals were dismissed as they had no relevance to the zoning aspects.
The decision for rezoning is final. It permits the construction of buildings between 25 and 38 meters in height with the inclusion of a carriageway to allow for street parking on Bromwell Street and access from Ftoundry Road.
Applicants earning more than R3 500 and less than R20 000 per month may qualify. These are residents who would not necessarily qualify for a bond from a bank.
The City’s Human Settlements Directorate remains committed to providing hundreds of affordable and social housing opportunities around the city centre on sites such as at the Salt River Market, Woodstock Hospital and Pine Road, as well as other areas across the city.
As previously mentioned, the Pine Road site is still on track and making progress. The Pickwick Street Transitional housing site was completed in May 2019.
Once the site development plan for the Pine Road social housing project has been approved, the application for building plan approval will follow.
In May 2019, residents who were living in the informal settlement in Pine Road were moved to the Pickwick transitional housing site, which avails the land in Pine Road to provide approximately 240 social housing (affordable rental) opportunities.