Two years ago, Heritage Western Cape, the provincial department responsible for heritage matters in the Western Cape, issued a provisional protection order in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act, in order to ensure the River Club site is grade for its heritage importance. That protection order expires at the end of March and has been bogged down by a set of appeals that have dragged out since October 2018.
On Friday 13th March, the Ministerial Appeal Tribunal will convene, hopefully for the last time, and consider the appellants' claims. The essential question before the Tribunal is whether the reasons for applying the Protection Order were justified. In our view, there is an immediate threat to heritage since the applicant has ploughed ahead with their application which is now past the public participation process and is with the decision-maker (Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, DEADP) in terms of the processes provided for under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). They have done so despite being warned that the whole TRUP area, including the River Club site, should first be graded for heritage status. They were warned that pursuing a development application would be at their own risk.
Most telling is the Developer's own views about the heritage value of the site. He said in a letter to the press "The River Club site is in fact severely under-utilised, closed to the public and degraded, with some parts being used as a rubbish dump - hardly a 'precious part of our city'..." If anyone needed a clearer indication of an imminent threat to the heritage resources on site, it is this chilling statement that makes us realise that the intangible heritage of the site means nothing to the developer, who is only looking for the best way to achieve this massive construction. As for a rubbish dump, one will struggle to find that on the aerial photo of the site above.
We will keep you posted on the outcome of the Appeal Tribunal. If anyone wishes to attend the hearing, it is open to the public. Venue is Protea Assurance Building, 1st floor boardroom, Greenmarket Square, Cape Town. Start time is set down for 9am. All welcome!