Retreat housing project pushed back

A planned Retreat housing project for which construction should have started between February and December last year is now only set to get going in three years (“500 houses planned for Retreat,” Southern Mail, December 1, 2021).

The plan for 500 state-subsidised houses on land behind Crestway High School is still on the drawing board and will take longer to get off the ground because an environmental authorisation must be issued before work can start, says the City.

Mayoral committee member for human settlements Carl Pophaim said that although most of the specialist studies had been done for the environmental authorisation, construction would only start in 2028 and be completed by 2033 if all went to plan.

“Once reviews of the studies are completed and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approved, we will be able to finalise the designs and start with procurement.”

The project was set to cost the City an estimated R110 million in 2021, but a final estimate would be recalculated after the EIA and final designs had been done.

Melanie Davids, 58, lives in a wendy house in her cousin’s backyard with her two children and three grandchildren and has been on the housing database for over 30 years. She said the delay had an impact on the lives of those, like herself, who needed housing.

“When we heard the news of this housing project and the others we were so happy because it gave us hope. Now they’re saying it will be completed in 2033, and we don’t even know if that will happen,” she said.

The United Housing Developments Association was at the forefront of negotiations with the City since 2013 to make the land available for housing development, and its members occupied the site and the former grounds of Crestway High School but were evicted by the court after violent clashes with law enforcement.

Faizel Peteren, who took over as chairperson of the association following the death of its founder, Howard Soetwater, said their efforts hadn’t stopped since Mr Soetwater’s death.

Mr Petersen however alleged that the organisation had been sidelined by the City and had not been included in the steering committee for the housing project.

“We need answers from the City because we are not being seen or heard. Our organisation has been fighting for this land for years, but now we’re not even given the courtesy of getting updates or meetings with the City about the plans for the site,” he said.

Mr Pophaim said the late Mr Soetwater had been voted out by the members of the steering committee, but the organisation could still be represented if it chose and notified the City of a new representative.

“All active and registered community organisations can form part of the steering committee and take part in the processes to communicate updates to their respective constituencies,” he said.

The City stressed that only those listed on its housing database would be eligible for available housing opportunities and those on the database should ensure their details were up to date.