Rezone of farms halted

Activists claimed victory after an application to rezone prime farm land in the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) was dismissed.

On February 24, Heritage Western Cape (HWC) denied a second appeal by developer UVEST Property Group, appearing as Exclusive Access Trading 570, who applied to rezone 96 hectares of land on the PHA, reports the Cape Times.

There has also been widespread opposition to a 472.36ha planned housing development called Oakland City.

UVEST’s first appeal was denied in June last year as the appeal committee said the area was worthy of conservation, and refused to rezone it.

The PHA is 3000ha of farmland in the heart of the Cape Flats and opponents of the developments say they will threaten the livelihoods of emerging farmers and their workers and local food security and seriously jeopardise a 630km² aquifer.

The campaign’s Nazeer Sonday said: “This is a small but very important victory. In this instance, HWC is asserting its mandate to protect the heritage resources.

“Our area is valuable for us as farmers, but it’s also very valuable for Cape Town and all its citizens.”