In September of last year, the City of Cape Town awarded a controversial R1 billion tender for the development of the Clifton Precinct to a consortium registered as K2015298271 South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

The decision was met with a great deal of backlash, and you can read all about what went down at the time here.

For those completely out of the loop, a basic starting point – Maiden’s Cove is a scenic lookout point nestled between Clifton’s beaches and Glen Beach in Camps Bay.

The views are spectacular:

The views, of course, aren’t the only reason that so many are opposed to the development going ahead, and leading the charge against the City is Justice Albie Sachs.

Sachs is a patron of Maidens’ Cove for All (MCA), a non-profit organisation calling for the development of the Maiden’s Cove precinct to cease.

He has written an article on the Daily Maverick outlining why he’s so against the city’s decision, and here’s a good place to start:

…the City of Cape Town has come up with the most startling project of all.

It has, off its own bat, advertised the sale and lease of precious public open space in the protected scenic coastal reserve known as Maidens Cove. Furthermore, it has itself issued a diagram providing details of the development.

This would include a boutique hotel, more than 50 private homes, a parking garage for 750 cars, and retail space with a footprint as large as that of Checkers in Sea Point.

Sachs [above] argues that the City’s haste to develop this land misses the bigger picture:

Imagine the outcry if the City came up with a plan to sell off portions of the Rondebosch Common or to permit construction of a hotel on top of Table Mountain because this would generate revenue, 10% of which could then be used for affordable housing in the inner city.

And above all it should engage directly with the historic and current users of Maiden’s Cove. They developed an intimate connection with the area in the decades when the beautiful nearby beaches were forbidden to them, and they have in fact been rendered invisible in all the processes followed up to now by the City.

They should be the first to engage meaningfully with the City about how the area should be upgraded. Everyone should have a voice, the picnickers and celebrants from Bo-Kaap, the Cape Flats, Atlantis and Vanrhynsdorp, as well as the Clifton bungalow owners.

Given that the people of Bo-Kaap barely have a say in what happens in their own neighbourhood, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

In a recent interview with IOL, Sachs doubled down:

“Maiden’s Cove has great historic meaning for the majority of Capetonians who were not allowed on to the beautiful beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay during the long dark years of apartheid,” he said.

“The City went to great pains to consult with the management of the tennis courts and bowling greens in the area, but never even bothered to engage with the people from the Bo-Kaap and the Cape Flats for whom Maiden’s Cove had become a place of magic and relaxation,” said Sachs

“I grew up in the area and hate to see an injustice being done.”

In April, the Bungalow Owners Association (BOA) approached the Western Cape High Court to set aside the sale. Now the MCA are going to bring a legal challenge of their own:

[MCA founding member Vanessa September] said they had briefed counsel to apply for the MCA to intervene as a party in the litigation

“The BOA has raised strong technical and procedural challenges to the tender awarded to private developers to develop the area between Clifton and Camps Bay including the Maiden’s Cove public open space. MCA supports this but also wishes to bring in the voices of the community,” September said.

It looks like the City has a real battle on its hands, because the big guns have been rolled out and I get the feeling neither of these organisations is the type to go down without a fight.

[sources:dailymav&iol]