Fresh Outcry Over Hotel Development Next to Historic Bo-Kaap Mosque

The Auwal Mosque in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, was established in 1794 and is the oldest mosque in the country. A hotel development is planned right next to it.

• A petition to support the preservation of the Auwal Mosque in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, has garnered more than 4,000 signatures.
• This comes as a decision is awaited on whether a hotel development next to the historic mosque should proceed.
• The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association chairperson has warned there will likely be a backlash should the development get the green light.
• Flyt Property Investment, the developers, say they have “gone above and beyond” to “accommodate all interested and affected parties”.

There has been a renewed call to “save the Auwal Mosque”. This follows a City of Cape Town planning appeals advisory panel meeting over a proposed six-storey hotel behind the mosque in the historic suburb.

Last month, we reported on the arguments for and against the proposed hotel.

Now, in a fresh outcry, a petition has been signed by more than 4,000 people opposing the hotel development just metres away from the country’s oldest mosque.

“We call upon the municipalities, the planning departments, the businesses involved in this development, and every Capetonian who values the preservation of our cultural heritage to halt this development,” the petition reads.

In a separate statement, the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BKCRA) called for solidarity “with our fight to protect our way of life, our living heritage, practice and traditions”.

“This is a battle for Bo-Kaap, for Auwal, if this is approved it will open the floodgates,” it said.

The civic association called on the mayor to uphold its appeal against the current iteration of the development.

Community engagement

There have been several attempts to develop the site since a permit for demolition of the previous one-storey structure on the property was issued in 2007 by Heritage Western Cape (HWC). The permit stipulated conditions for the replacement structure.

Flyt purchased the plot in 2017, two years before Bo-Kaap was declared a Heritage Protection Overlay Zone (HPOZ). Flyt then submitted a revised development to HWC for approval.

In 2019, the civic appealed to the Independent Tribunal constituted by the MEC of Cultural Affairs and Sport, against a decision to approve a development proposal for a nine-storey mixed-use development in the Bo Kaap area.

The Tribunal provided a directive for parties to have meaningful engagement with an independent facilitator. The facilitation process was undertaken by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) with Flyt, HWC, and the civic association.

In 2022, Flyt resubmitted plans for an eight-storey mixed-used development. This required a new public participation process. This design was then scaled down to a six-storey development, which was approved by the Municipal Planning Tribunal in July last year, resulting in the current appeal.

Flyt, in its submission to the City appeals panel, argued that it has “gone above and beyond on this project and tried our best to accommodate all interested and affected parties in a fair manner, whilst still maintaining a viable project.”

A 2023 report from SAHRA said the process eventually “yielded very positive outcomes and it could be used as a baseline for facilitating amicable outcomes to balance the legislative processes, development rights, and affected communities”.

SAHRA said that the threat of “marginalisation and gentrification”, as well as the Bo-Kaap community’s “determination to preserve their neighbourhood” were both matters of public record.

It acknowledges that because of its proximity to the CBD, Bo-Kaap faces extreme pressure from urban development.

“The crux of the facilitation was to ensure that such development rights should not have a negative impact on the urban fabric of Bo-Kaap, and community concerns needed to be taken on board. It was pleasing to see the developer, their architects, and community representatives, accommodating each other as the facilitation was progressing in the spirit of positive engagement and trust.”

According to SAHRA, a total of five revised plans and designs have been produced.

In response to the recent petition, Zane De Decker, CEO of Flyt Property Investment, told GroundUp they had already made significant design changes to the hotel.

“The problem is that the goalposts keep moving and Bo-Kaap Civic is not honouring the agreement that we reached during the facilitation process.”

He said that the civic association asking for more changes “was simply unreasonable” and an “act of bad faith”.

Osman Shaboodien, chairperson of the ratepayers’ association, denied the Civic had acted in bad faith. “We told them time and time again that this site was not suitable for what was envisaged purely because of the proximity of the Auwal Mosque. They only looked at brick and mortar and what the plan says.”

“There’s a lot of grey areas but ultimately we must face the facts. The Auwal is the oldest mosque. The Auwal is a symbol for Islam throughout South Africa. It is the most precious building,” he said.

He said the petition was “important because it creates awareness”.

He warned that “a big backlash” was likely if there was a “negative” decision.

Next steps

In a statement on social media, Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and mayco member for spatial planning and environment, said he had received numerous messages regarding the application for the proposed development.

Andrews said the City would not be making any comments on the matter until the development application process had fully concluded.

“This process will only be complete once a decision has been made by the final appeals authority.

“According to the City’s Municipal Planning By-law, the appeal authority has 90 days to make a decision,” he said.

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