Proposed Tokai High School sparks controversy in Bergvliet over traffic

Bergvliet residents are raising concerns over proposed plans to develop a new school in their community.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has made plans for a new school, Tokai High School, that would be located on Ruskin Road, Bergvliet, on over 3,8 hectares of land owned by the provincial government.

The WCED, said the proposed plan for the school is estimated to cost more than R125 million, and will be able to accommodate more than 1 100 pupils, have around 30 classrooms,  a sports field, and a school hall. According to the planning document, this project is part of the WCED’s rapid school project.

Bergvliet resident Ingrid van den Berg said the community did not receive prior notification regarding these plans.

“Indeed, we have subsequently heard that the project has already gone out to tender, this having happened before residents had even got word of the plans,” she said. 

Van den Berg agreed that there is a shortage of schools in the southern suburbs, but said: “While the initiative is, in and of itself, admirable, it makes little sense at the proposed location.” 

Another Bergvliet resident, Rob Muller, agrees that there would be a dramatic increase in traffic that a new school would inevitably bring to what is currently a quiet, middle- to upper-middle-class family-oriented neighbourhood.

“Our suburban roads are narrow and were never designed to accommodate such high volumes of traffic,” he said. 

WCED spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond, said high schools in the area receive more than 2 200 applications for just over 200 spaces each year.

“The demand for access to high schools in the area is high. The new high school is to serve the needs of the community and learners from neighbouring primary schools,” she said.

Hammond said the WCED is still to determine the fee structure of the school. 

When asked why the WCED did not have a public participation drive, Hammond said public participation is not required when a development conforms to the development rights of a property.

She said the WCED is doing a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), which requires public consultation, adding that the HIA is done on the heritage application and not the feasibility of the school. 

Bergvliet Voluntary Association (BVA) representative Ian Fairley said that BVA is reviewing the HIA related to the proposed development.

The BVA is circulating a notification to the community giving them more details about plans for a proposed school in the community, and they urge the community to get involved by emailing [email protected]. The BVA also retained the services of a legal firm that is reviewing the application. 

The City’s mayoral committee member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas, said the traffic impact assessment was submitted together with the building plan.

Interested and affected parties have until October 1, to comment on the HIA report. They can email Sarah Winter at [email protected]

Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.

Cape Argus