By Kouthar Sambo
Local residents of Bo-Kaap are up in arms and appealed against the City’s intention to build a new six-story development next to the Auwal Masjid, the longest-standing Majid in South Africa.
Residents say the new development could significantly impact the heritage of the picturesque, historic suburb in Cape Town.
Speaking on VOC’s PM Drive show on Friday, the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BKCRA) chairperson Osman Shaboodien said the biggest challenge for the community is the arrogance of the City.
“The Bo-Kaap has a history of these developments and one of the aspects we achieved in the past was to get a heritage overlay zone granted in 2019. These plans the community is fighting against were approved without public participation before the heritage overlay zone was granted,” explained Shaboodien.
“The zone of the Auwal Mosque is graded Zone one for heritage – it is the highest – and all the buildings surrounded by the Mosque, including the Mosque, are one and two stories and the City is intending for a six-story which was brought down from an eight-story development as if the community should be happy with this so-called compromise – we are not happy,” asserted Shabodien.
Meanwhile, the Imam of the Auwal Masjid, Sheikh Ismail Londt, encouraged the community to stand together on this matter.
“We need to keep tabs on this and check in with the with BKCRA and go to their website (see: https://acrobat.adobe.com/…/urn:aaid:sc:EU:db3366a0…) and find out how residents can make their voices heard. There is an appeal against the building of a new hotel next to the Mosque and today will be the last day,” added Londt.
Furthermore, the City told VOC News that the property in question is zoned as “Mixed-Use 3, which permits a number of primary uses including a hotel.”
“The approval that was granted by the Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) only relates to building form and not the use of the property given the permitted primary uses that include a hotel,” said the City.
*This is still a developing story
Photo: VOCfm
