The City of Cape Town withdrew the ground sale of the 1st Durbanville Scouts last week – a sigh of relief for the scouts as this means they get to keep their home.
At a council meeting held at the Durbanville Town Hall last week (22 September), Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, assured the scout contingent who attended the meeting that the hall would not be sold in the short to medium term.
He added that an administrative error was the cause of the property having been advertised as available for sale.
“The City of Cape Town advertised a proposal in the TygerBurger of 31 August to sell erf number 12517 in Durbanville for R25 million,” says 1st Durbanville Scout group leader, Ray Middleton.
“The property has been leased to the 1st Durbanville Scout Group since 1964. During this period hundreds of young people have been developed into responsible adults, many of whom still live in the Durbanville area, through the inculcation of the values, ethics and skills that the Scouting programme offers,” Middleton says.
Middleton says that this positive development paves the way for future constructive discussions with the City and finding a solution that benefits the entire community of Durbanville. The next step for the 1st Durbanville scout group is to secure a new lease for the property.
For the past year, the scout group was poised to lose their scout hall and grounds, thanks to a decision by the City to sell the property for yet another high density, housing project.
The City has previously listed the following reasons for the sale:
- The transfer of the property will relieve the council of the maintenance burden.
- The transfer of the property will enable better utilization of City land.
- Viable land will be developed to its highest and best use.
Use of grounds
The land is currently used by not only the more than 100 members 1st Durbanville Scout Group, but also by the following organisations who render invaluable service to the residents of Durbanville:
- Lions of Durbanville;
- Alcoholics Anonymous;
- Durbanville Bullying in Schools counselling;
- Durbanville Seniors Hub;
- Art classes for the indigent;
- Woodwork classes (as woodwork is not presented by local schools);
- Camping for less privileged troops, namely 1st Paarl, 1st Darling and 1st Gugulethu who have no safe camping facilities of their own;
- Training of adult leaders for Scouts SA;
- Durbanville True Light Fellowship church;
- Prayer groups and support outreach;
- Support for mentally challenged children;
- Strength training classes for exceptional swimmers.
The 1st Durbanville Scout Group also renders a community service to the following groups and organisations:
- MES Durbanville – operates out of a hall built by the 1st Durbanville Scout Group;
- Durbanville Children’s Home;
- Wildflower Stepping Stones Project;
- Bless a Baby;
- Fallen Angels Dog Shelter;
Heritage
According to the City’s urban planning and design department, two of the buildings on the erf are evaluated as a Grade IIIC heritage status. This grading was awarded on the basis of a superficial heritage audit carried out in 2012. However in a recent evaluation the entire site is evaluated as Grade IIIB.
Middleton says that although the next step for the 1st Durbanville scout group is to secure a new lease for the property, they are overwhelmed with joy that they get to stay a bit longer.
“We would like an opportunity to purchase the property and sit down with the City to discuss this,” Middleton says.
The Mayor mentioned at the meeting that the hall would not be sold in the short to medium term. This created some confusion, as the group wants to know what exactly the City means by “short to medium term”.
TygerBurger approached the City for comment, but they did not respond to the query at the time of print.
