27 October 2023
Ndifuna Ukwazi wholeheartedly welcomes the release of the Pickwick site in Salt River for the development of mixed-income housing, as announced by the City of Cape Town during the council meeting on the 26th of October 2023. The Pickwick site is extremely well-located, and will deliver roughly 1,800 homes, including 840 social housing apartments and 960 market rate apartments.
We have been advocating for the release of public land and the development of affordable housing for many years, and it is encouraging to see another project move closer to construction. That said, we must also note that Pickwick was first proposed as a site for affordable housing as far back as 2008, and that progress on this site and others will need to be a lot faster to make a real impact.
What is also significant, is that the City’s new guidelines for releasing land for affordable housing are now in effect and have been used to increase the number of social housing apartments included in the Pickwick development. As always, it is crucial to maximise both the number of affordable homes and to ensure that they cater to people on low incomes so that projects assist those who really need them. In the past, a lack of clarity around the land release process has led to several errors and been used by opponents of affordable housing to stifle progress. It is therefore heartening to see the guidelines in effect and making an impact.
We call on the City to do more, do it faster, and do it successfully – the scale and intensity of our housing and segregation crises demand nothing less.
Call for development of 11 sites for social and affordable housing to be sped up
City changes tune toward well-located affordable housing but doesn’t change progress
