- Bloubergstrand village residents are opposing the rezoning of beachfront properties into hotels and bars.
- They fear overdevelopment will harm the area’s historical character and limit public access to the beach.
- Property owners argue that their developments are within legal rights, but the community is determined to preserve the village’s heritage.
The historic and picturesque Bloubergstrand is once again a battleground – but this time, the conflict is not between British forces and Dutch colonists as during the Napoleonic Wars. Instead, the clash is between beachfront property owners and local residents.
Property owners are seeking to rezone and license their single residential homes, transforming them into multi-storeyed hotels, bars, and restaurants. Fiercely opposing this move, the residents of the original village, led by the Bloubergstrand Village Residents’ Association (Village BRA), have launched a strong resistance to preserve their community’s character and protect it from overdevelopment.
On the other side of the battle line are the owners of the beachfront properties seeking rezoning and/or liquor licences.
Currently these properties include Rockhaven Guesthouse at 7 Sir David Baird Drive; Belle Maroc Guesthouse at 6 Belloy Street; the former Café Blouberg at 20 Stadler Road; and the Guesthouse and coffee shop known as Lighthouse @ 47 situated at 47 Stadler Road.
The residents fear that if the owners of these properties are allowed to proceed with their plans, it will set a precedent that will lead to many more such developments. They wish to preserve the picturesque ambience of their village, the access to its safe beaches for inland families, and its world-famous picture-postcard appeal. They have serious concerns about the potential for limiting access to these beaches, noise, disorderly conduct, traffic congestion, crime, and environmental harm that such developments will bring with them – already a factor due to the alleged illegal operations of at least one of these properties.
However, property owners told TygerBurger they are within the law and it is their right to do with their properties as they see fit.
“We understand the concerns from residents, but none of these developments will create any harm to them or the area,” a property owner told TygerBurger on Monday.
Tourism
Village BRA says the village in its current form is a valuable South African tourism asset as this quaint picture postcard location with its world-famous views of Table Mountain and Cape Town across the bay draws people from around the world.
The residents furthermore believe that the village’s other important heritage status as a favourite, safe and crime-free family Sunday destination will also be lost to the people of the greater Cape Town area and environs.
“With Cape Town already having lost such a large part of our beachline to concrete, congestion, noise and resultant crime, further loss should be prevented at all costs,” says Jan Derksen, chair of Village BRA.
Supporting Derksen’s view is resident Jeanne Legrand, who says “this battle is so much more than just the interests of the residents of the village – it affects the legacy and heritage of our village and its beaches as being a favourite destination for families from inland suburbs”.
“This is a public space and one of the last few swim-safe beaches and rock pools along this stretch of coastline that must be protected and conserved to remain accessible to everyone, not just a select few. The proposed developments aggressively and self-servingly lay claim to the landscape with no consideration for the needs of beachgoers – from the inland suburbs – who come to enjoy the rock pools at Bokkombaai or for the negative impact the proposed developments will have on the public in respect of traffic infrastructure and parking, as well as the proposed Rockhaven hotel’s encroachment on public spaces, particularly the beachside public pathway, which if allowed, will adversely affect access to the beach.”
The four properties are located within a quiet residential area that has resisted development efforts over the years in order to retain the low-key, unobtrusive character of the historic enclave and family beach destination comprising the original village, the Village BRA says.
The village excludes the nearby Big Bay high-density development with it shops, bars and restaurants, a development the residents agreed to some years ago on condition that the City of Cape Town would protect and support the retention of the village character of the original Bloubergstrand village. This undertaking by the City now seems to be in jeopardy.
“We hope our local metro councillor from the governing Democratic Alliance will join hands with us to preserve one of the last areas where children can safely enjoy playing in the rockpools and families can easily access the unspoilt beaches,” says Derksen, again emphasising the broader heritage value of Bloubergstrand and its historical character.
Local Ward councillor Paul Swart says: “These are my constituents – I represent them. And where they have any substantive objections, I support them and will advance their cause within the council, as I have already done on a number of occasions.”
Objections
To support their objections, the Village BRA also cites the example of the Belle Maroc Guesthouse whose owners’ previous application, as well as their later appeal for general business rezoning, were both turned down by the City, with support from Executive Mayor Geordhan Hill-Lewis, as it did not comply with the applicable City prescriptions for the type of residential area it is situated in.
Mayor Hill-Lewis also pointed out that the owners had failed to comply with the conditions stipulated in 2018 when permission was given for them to operate as a guest house, including provision of on-site parking for its guests.
Neighbours claim that Belle Maroc illegally operates a restaurant which serves alcohol without a liquor licence, despite already having received a fine for this. They list a litany of other social problems allegedly already associated with this establishment which they say will worsen should hotel rights, that include the operating of a public bar and restaurant, be granted.
“In a well-motivated objection submitted to the City of Cape Town opposing the latest application by Belle Maroc, a neighbour, Dr Dorianne Green, points out various alleged illegal activities, non-compliance with its guest house provisions, late-night noise and disturbances, and the issue of using up scarce public parking, and implies that the latest application is a ruse to establish a bar, restaurant and conference facility,” Village BRA says.
Dr Green also points out that the local beach “is one of the only beaches in Cape Town that is child-friendly”, a distinction that could be compromised.
Multiple incongruities
In the case of nearby Rockhaven, where a hotel is proposed, the Village BRA’s town planning consultant says in a submission to the city council that the applicants’ acceptance of restrictions on their use of business rights if approved, can easily be removed at a later stage, as experience elsewhere has shown.
Attorney Nicholas Smith, acting on behalf of 84 objectors to Rockhaven’s application, points out multiple incongruities in their application, according to the Village BRA. He outlines a case against the proposed hotel as being “undesirable” in the context of its surrounding buildings, and that “rezoning will impact existing rights (of other residents)”.
Legrand has also worked closely with an environmental lawyer to oppose Rockhaven’s two-fold hotel application, namely a town-planning application that involves rezoning the property with departures to advance seawards into the coastal flood zone, and secondly, an environmental application to the provincial authority because of this advance.
“We counted approximately 150 individual objections to the town planning application, and we instructed an environmental attorney to oppose the hotel development on our behalf – he is acting for 90 signatories,” she says.
“The proposed Rockhaven hotel is very problematic in that it proposes to advance the footprint of the building seawards into the coastal high-risk flood zone at a time when globally developers are advised to retreat from the coastline to prevent long-term damage to property and infrastructure due to increasingly high tides and the increase in severe storms.
“The potential future cost for the City of Cape Town to keep the sea at bay, repair storm damage, and maintain the coastline should be one of the biggest considerations against such developments. The City is already footing the bill for the Small Bay major sewerage and road infrastructure repairs because of a combination of historic ill-considered development close to the high-water mark and coastal overtopping,” she says.
In the case of the property at 20 Stadler Road that previously operated as Café Blouberg, the Village BRA and some residents are appealing the City’s granting of an application for rezoning of the property for general business use, subject to certain conditions. They fear it could allow the property to be used as a “sunset bar”. And down the road at the nearby guesthouse and coffee shop known as Lighthouse @ 47 at 47 Stadler Road, the owner is for the third time attempting to obtain a liquor licence for all three floors of his sea-facing guesthouse and coffeeshop to turn it into a bar.
Opposing both instances, Dr Andre Maree, whose house is directly opposite Lighthouse @ 47, has grave concerns about the disturbances and noise that could potentially follow, while the privacy of his home will also be severely compromised, he says.
The village residents say they are determined to win this second Battle of Blaauwberg.
