CLOSER TO SOCIAL HOUSING ON THE TAFELBERG SITE: CLOSER TO SPATIAL JUSTICE IN SEA POINT.
Press statement: 22 May 2025
On Wednesday 21 May 2025, the Western Cape Province revealed three concept plans for the development of the Tafelberg site, all of which included social housing.
Of the three concepts, one plan would see 122 social housing units on the site developed alongside 293 market-related housing units and 153 affordable housing units. This development marks a pivotal moment for the working class and those who have long been excluded from areas like Sea Point due to exorbitant property prices and systemic spatial injustice
This meeting was the first public meeting on the contested site following Province’s announcement on 8 February 2024 that it would have engagements with interested and affected parties. This marks a pivotal moment for the working class and those who have long been excluded from areas like Sea Point due to exorbitant property prices and systemic spatial exclusion
“We welcome the Province’s acknowledgement of the urgent housing crisis and the potential of this site to move us toward a more spatially just Cape Town and we urge the Province to build on its recent shift toward transparency in its plans for all public land. “ said Buhle Booi, head of Political Organising and Campaigns at Ndifuna Ukwazi.
Previously, on 31 January 2025, MEC Tertius Simmers announced plans to allocate 8 000m² of the site to the Department of Social Development, with only 7 000m² earmarked for social housing. This was not enough. With over 600 000 people on the provincial housing waiting list, every square meter counts. Feasibility studies, including the Province’s own, showed the site could yield 270+ social housing units. Yet, for nearly a decade, the government left the land vacant, spending millions on security and defending the indefensible when challenged at the courts.
“The Court’s pending judgment has the potential to ensure that public land is recognised and used for its social value to reshape our cities into truly inclusive ones. We remain hopeful that it will help dismantle apartheid’s spatial legacy and affirm the right to equitable access to land and adequate housing. Affordable Housing in well-located areas is critical to addressing this and the very present housing crisis.” said Disha Govender, head of the NU Law Centre
We are ready to engage in the public participation process to ensure that community voices are heard and that we will advocate for the highest possible yield of social housing to enhance the inclusivity of this much-needed development
This victory is not just a milestone for Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City; it is a triumph for the domestic workers and security guards and all the young professionals that have been calling for affordable housing in Sea Point.
The Province’s public participation process will take two years to complete, ending in 2026. We will continue to push for affordable and social housing until we see bricks on the ground and homes built for the many, not the few.
Read More
- Test of patience as long wait expected for the Constitutional Court’s judgment on Tafelberg site
- Concourt judgment on Tafelberg could change future of social housing
- Tafelberg at Constitutional Court
