Construction of the Village Heights Development, a R6,2 million project aimed at housing residents of Village Heights informal settlement in Lavender Hill, has finally begun.
Last week, contractors arrived on-site to begin the groundwork.
Ward 45 councillor Mandy Marr says R6 250 000 has been budgeted for the project.
“The ground is being prepared and the recipients of the serviced plots will be residents of Village Heights.
“Residents must be on the waiting list but unlike regular RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) or BNG (Breaking New Ground) housing, the beneficiaries of the serviced plots are those who live on the settlement.”
Village Heights, which is situated behind St Montagu Village, has been in existence for 19 years, says Aysha Davids, a community leader and chair of the Projects Steering Committee.
“In November, the informal settlement will be 19 years old. We have been through fires and winters, and it has been hectic. There have been shootings and many lives lost in the past 19 years and those people will not see this development.
“It has been a long process and while some had said there will never be houses, it is finally happening.”
She adds that more than 5 000 people live in the informal settlement and for many, this will be their first home.
“If I think of all the families at Village Heights, many of them have never had houses before.
“So it is exciting that the containers arrived last week and then, the next step, a fence will go up and then the construction will begin.”
Meanwhile, Karen Mentoor, a community leader from Overcome Heights informal settlement in Lavender Hill, says they are waiting their turn to have a house of their own.
“We had a meeting with the subcouncil and the councillor because we have also been waiting more than 20 years for houses. A lot of money has been wasted at Italy (St Patrick’s Road sports field) over here. Three times money was spent on building parks and then it was demolished, and millions were wasted instead of being spent on housing.
“We are not going to sit quietly anymore. Why are coloured people not getting houses?
“I have been on the housing waiting list for more than 22 years and there are many elderly people also on the waiting list.”
According to the City, there are 375 150 applicants on the Housing Needs Register with a “waiting status” with no specific time frame in which residents must wait before they are allocated a housing opportunity. Allocation depends on availability and whether applicants qualify when opportunities become available.
