The future of a controversial development proposed for the Uitkamp farm on the outskirts of Durbanville in the Western Cape will be decided by the provincial government rather than by the City of Cape Town. The council has asked the province to decide on whether the development should go ahead or not.
The development is planned for a 127-hectare property between the existing suburb of Aurora and the Clara Anna Fontein game reserve. About 650 homes will be built on this piece of land if the development gets the go-ahead. The land is currently zoned for agricultural use.
Initially Cape Town’s mayoral committee supported the development but after a string of objections it has decided to withdraw from the debate and pass the buck to the province instead.
Yesterday Marian Nieuwoudt, a member of the mayoral committee for planning and environment, denied that by passing the buck to the province the council was back-tracking on its previous decision. She also denied that the decision was a result of public pressure.
She says that if the province agrees that the development should continue, various other applications would have to be lodged and approved before development could start.
Meanwhile the Durbanville Community Forum’s George Sieraha says that the latest decision is clear evidence that the council has done an abrupt about turn because of the public pressure mounted against the development.
There is no clear indication on when the Western Cape provincial legislature will make a decision on the Durbanville development plans.
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