Good News for Cape Town - Wescape ‘will create 200 000 jobs

Cape Town - Wescape, the multibillion-rand housing development set to be built near Melkbos Strand, will not only be sustainable, but will create 200 000 jobs in the Western Cape over the next 20 years, says one of the developers.

In a discussion on Wednesday at the Cape Institute of Architecture in Cape Town, ARG Design managing director Alastair Rendall attempted to address a mountain of concerns surrounding the development.

The housing project has been shrouded in controversy ever since an application to the city to extend the city’s urban edge to accommodate the development was given the nod. 

The proposed development will cost around R140-billion, and once completed in 2036, will consist of 200 000 houses, 415 educational facilities, 370 “public service facilities” (such as libraries and clinics), and 15 sports complexes. It is to be built on a 3 100-hectare erf between the Cape Town CBD and Atlantis.

Rendall said the construction of the development as well as its administration would create around 200 000 job opportunities.

“It is all about establishing an economy from the word go... This is not a housing project,” he said.

Wescape is mainly focused on attracting people earning between R4 000 and R6 000 a month. The population is expected to reach 800 000 by 2036.

 

Rendall said the decision to build outside of the city’s urban edge was motivated by several factors, including a desire to move away from the density of current developments.

He said in certain areas there were almost 300 dwellings a hectare.

 

Additionally, he pointed out that a large amount of land within the city’s urban edge was already reserved by the city for its own housing projects.

A major point of contention was the development’s proximity to the Koeberg Power Station.

It will be just 16km from Koeberg, in an area dubbed as a “red zone”. It has been reported that in the event of a nuclear disaster, it would be impossible to evacuate all the area’s residents in time.

African Centre for Cities professor Vanessa Watson was critical of the development.

She said that, ultimately, poor people would be getting the raw end of the deal.

Either they would risk being cut off from jobs in the city centres by moving to the “remote” location, or could see vital funds being stripped from their communities to fund the development of Wescape.