Paving the way for more successful affordable housing projects

Dear Editor

During an oversight visit to the Conradie Park development in Pinelands on Friday, the Department of Transport & Public Works revealed that despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the construction industry, more than 570 social housing and Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) units will be completed in 2022. This is over and above the 170 units that are currently being handed over to first-time homeowners as part of Phase 1 of the project.

The 22-hectare site is the pilot study for the Better Living Model which seeks to create integrated communities where residents can Live, Work, Play and Learn and which uses state-owned land to redress the harmful effects of apartheid spatial planning. The R394.4 million development will include commercial and retail spaces, including a hotel, recreational sports facilities and two affordable independent schools for 1 600 learners. More than this, a new hospital will be built to serve the community.

Upgrades to internal and external roads are in various stages of completion in order to support the traffic for the 3 500 mixed-income units envisioned for the site. Excitingly, phase 1 of FLISP units, which subsidises first-time homeowners with subsidies ranging between R30 000 and R120 000, has already been sold out.

As the Premier announced during his State of the Province Address, Conradie Park is only the first development that is a part of the Better Living Model. Another two projects, the Founders Garden Artscape Precinct and the Leeuloop Precinct Development in Cape Town’s CBD, are both in the planning phases and require approval from the national Department of Human Settlements and additional funding from the City of Cape Town.

MPP Matlhodi Maseko says: “The partnership between the provincial government, the City Of Cape Town and the private sector has made the mixed-income and integrated vision of the City, a reality at Conradie Park. Currently, hard work at the site has seen the completion of internal roads and the Town Square as well as the installation of all streetlights, a Sewer Pump Station, protection for two local substations as well an upgraded fence on the PRASA boundary.

While the long term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will only become apparent over time, we commend all stakeholders for their efforts to push forward and combat the harmful legacy of apartheid spatial planning. We will continue to monitor the progress of the Conradie Park development and other integrated and affordable housing developments in and near the CBD. The Better Living Model exemplifies our vision for the Western Cape where we create safe and diverse communities which give residents access to government services and economic opportunities.”

Regards

Matlhodi Maseko, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Human Settlements

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