The battle over Cape Town's Tafelberg site in Sea Point will go to the Constitutional Court.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
There is still no judgment made in the controversial Tafelberg matter, which was heard more than a year ago in February last year.
Housing lobby group Ndifuna Ukwazi brought an appeal application to the Constitutional Court.
The matter, primarily a review application, sought a review of the Western Cape Government’s decisions in disposing of the Tafelberg site, which is needed for and could be used to develop social housing; and a declaratory order that the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town have failed to comply with their obligations to redress spatial apartheid in Central Cape Town.
Registrar’s Clerk for the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Nonkululeko Sishwili, said: “Kindly be informed that the judgment is still reserved in this matter.”
Marking the anniversary of the ConCourt hearing, NU, said that the date is also significant in South Africa’s history, as it marks 60 years since District Six was declared a White Group Area under the apartheid Group Areas Act, and 36 years since Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
“We are reminded that land justice remains central to our democracy. In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed the government’s commitment to accelerate land redistribution and transformation as a critical step towards land justice, spatial redress, and the protection of human rights.
“In Cape Town, the ongoing unregulated growth of short-term rentals and speculative investment sends a clear message to the poor and working class: anyone but you belongs in the city you helped build and keep alive,” it said.
The WCG has rebranded the site as “353 on Main” and has appointed a multi-disciplinary team to conduct various enablement and planning strategies.
Image: Ndifuna Ukwazi/Supplied
“Increasingly, well-located land and housing are being locked behind walls of privilege rather than used to address the core crisis of affordability and access.
“Remembering District Six and Tafelberg together allows us to see this clearly. Memory becomes a political resource. It helps us recognise repetition, resist erasure, and refuse the idea that waiting is an acceptable substitute for redress,” NU said.
“While we await the judgment, political pressure continues. In 2025, the Provincial Government took a U-turn and announced that it would embark on a two-year public consultation process, culminating in 2026.”
Ndifuna Ukwazi Executive Director, Mpho Raboeane, said: “We are in a housing crisis. We are seeing a dwindling number of social housing provisions. The answer to this is more supply of housing that is truly affordable.
“Social housing institutions are not able to build at scale due to budget constraints, however, the realisation of this requires: an increase of Social Housing budget from 2%, tax breaks for the development of social housing, and ensuring land is released at a R1 nominal value,” Raboeane said.
Meanwhile, the WCG has rebranded the site as “353 on Main” and has appointed a multi-disciplinary team to conduct various enablement and planning strategies, and detailed studies to guide any future development explorations and secure appropriate development rights.
It was previously announced that a portion of the site would be redeveloped for social housing
The project is currently in the exploratory investigations stage and next month is expected to enter into stakeholder engagements with the public, where they will be informed of the vision and objectives for this site.
For any enquiries, the public is encouraged write to [email protected]