Philippi land earmarked for development not farmed, neither producing food

The Philippi Horticultural Area Food and Farming Campaign has applied to the Western Cape High Court to review and set aside some of the decisions taken by the Western Cape Provincial Government, as well as the City of Cape Town.

The matter is being argued in court today and tomorrow.

It concerns the proposed development of 479 ha of vacant land in the southeastern part of Philippi. The developer, Oakland City, proposes a mixed use development that will provide housing for 15 000 families, schools, and job opportunities through the provision of commercial, office, retail and industrial development.

Today the Philippi Horticultural Area Food and Farming Campaign placed before the Court their version of the facts. The City had, however, considered this application taking cognisance of the following:

Photographic evidence exists that since at least 1945 this land has not been used for farming

Thus, this land does not produce any food

This land also does not provide any farmingrelated jobs to the local community

The Cape Town Spatial Development Framework of 2012 included Oakland’s land in the urban edge, designating it for urban development

The City took careful consideration of the impact the proposed development may have on the Cape Flats Aquifer, and food security. We adopted a cautious approach which requires from the developer to submit a stormwater master plan and detailed stormwater plans for each precinct that will form part of the proposed development.

It is the City’s view that farming also impacts on the Cape Flats Aquifer.

The Provincial Government granted environmental authorisation for the proposed development in 2016. The City subsequently approved the rezoning and subdivision of Oakland City’s land on 29 November 2016 and dismissed an appeal against the approval on 13 June 2017.

The City is opposing the application to the Western Cape High Court to review and set aside our planning decisions, as are the Provincial Government and the developer.

I want to reiterate that the City has, in April 2018, approved a new Municipal Spatial Development Framework. The MSDF replaced the 2012 Cape Town Spatial Development Framework (mentioned above). The revised MSDF supports the protection of the core agricultural areas of the PHA and to that end designates the PHA as a unique agricultural area.

Source: City Of Cape Town

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