Woodstock evictions
City of CT defends plan to move Woodstock families to Wolwerivier
The question of what is ‘as near as possible’ has cropped up in an eviction battle involving a group of Woodstock residents and the City of Cape Town.
The residents are rejecting the municipality's offer of emergency housing in Wolwerivier, a temporary relocation almost 30km from the city centre.
The Woodstock residents are demanding the City of Cape Town help them by providing emergency accommodation close to where they are living.
Woodstock residents say they're not fighting their eviction, but they don't want to be moved to Wolwerivier, a settlement about 30km from the CBD.
Albert Road resident Charmaine Marcus says that residents will continue fighting to stay in the area, just like the Bromwell Street group is doing.
Former District Six residents say the Woodstock evictions reminds them of what happened to them over four decades ago.
One of the Woodstock residents says the city needs to provide affordable housing for locals who can no longer afford to keep up with rising rental prices.
The city’s been under fire due to a spate of evictions from inner city areas like Salt River and Woodstock.
Woodstock residents who are facing eviction are banding together to find a way to stay close to the place they call home.
The lawyer representing the affected Woodstock residents, Mark Owen, says that the court case, which was heard on Thursday is not focused on opposing the eviction order as there is no basis for that.
Residents appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates Court as they want the court to determine if the eviction is to take place and when it would be enforced.
The attorney representing the residents says they feel that acting Judge Leslie Weinkove may be biased following his comments in court.
The old Woodstock hospital has been occupied in a protest aimed at forcing authorities to introduce more social housing in the city centre.
Reclaim the City supporters staged a peaceful protest in response to a decision by provincial cabinet to continue with the sale of the former Tafelberg Remedial School site.
The City of Cape Town has offered several families facing eviction emergency accommodation in the temporary settlement in Atlantis.
The matter between the municipality and Bromwell Street residents resumed on Wednesday in the Western Cape High Court.
The land where affected residents homes are located has been sold to a private developer.
Residents are requesting the municipality provide them with accommodation close to the Woodstock or Salt River areas.
The court was to rule on whether the City of Cape Town has a constitutional responsibility to assist them to find suitable accommodation.