Camps Bay residents fight to preserve village identity amid proposed library sale

In an open letter to the Mayor and City, the Camps Bay rate payers said the character of their once treasured village was being transformed into an international tourist hub, stripping it of its last identity.

This, as they continue to object against the proposed sale of their library and its adjacent parking area which is earmarked economic development.

The open letter to Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and the City was shared with the Cape Argus.

Two weeks ago, the City of Cape Town's Economic Growth Directorate confirmed the proposed selling of public land.

The City explained in their response that the properties aren't needed for basic municipal services and aim to optimize it for retail and commercial use and a new library is planned near the existing one, with details emerging during a land use application. 

The CBCRA criticised the lack of traffic, heritage, parking impact assessments and the absence of a concrete alternative library site.

“Camps Bay has always carried with it the memory and spirit of a village,” the community stated in their open letter.

“This village character has already been eroded over time. But the small pieces that remain are what keep the sense of place alive. They include the civic institutions that anchor us, above all the library, but also the schools and clubs; the walkable and human-scaled civic area; businesses and shops that remain as individual, discrete units rather than amalgamated into malls; and the heritage buildings that remind us of where we came from, the library itself, the strip of ‘locals’ restaurants across the road from it (Dizzy’s, Camps Bay Hardware, the Codfather), the old Camps Bay school, and the Rotunda.

"These few remnants are fragile, and if any one of them is stripped away, the balance tips, the character of the whole place risks being lost.”

They said, what was at stake, was  "last threads of identity that keep Camps Bay grounded as more than a tourist strip.”

Chris Willemse, the chairperson of the CBCRA also spoke about the financial implications and oversight: "However, if the new building is similar in size to the existing, then an estimate of R32m to construct this library and adjuncts, including parking and road re-alignment, will be reasonable. Similarly, the proposed Nyanga library will probably be of the order of R12m.

"Given the City’s own valuation of the disposal area at R63 450.00, this entire process will result in an income of less than R20m for the City. To place this in perspective, the new so-called “Cleaning” tariff will generate over R50m every year in Camps Bay alone. In other words, the sale will, in effect, result in a zero-sum game for the City’s budget.”

 The City added that the community's voice would be heard: "At this stage, the City is eliciting public comments on the proposed disposal of the relevant pieces of land. Following the Public Participation Process (PPP), the City will assess the comments and/or objections received to inform any decision or specific considerations for the intended disposal."

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