Flat plan opposition

Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency(ANA)

The public has until Monday next week to comment on plans for a seven-storey block of flats in Green Point.

The application by town-planning firm Tommy Brummer Town Planners, on behalf of the developer, is for a block of 51 flats in Braemer Road.

The building will face Braemar Road and be part of a strip of high-density developments along Main and Somerset roads.

It will have 67 parking bays for cars and nine bays for motorcycles spread between the basement and the ground and first floors.

The proposed site – covering 4, 6 and 8 Braemar Road – is occupied by a backpacker lodge and two houses that are more than 60 years old.

The application seeks removal of certain title-deed restrictions, consolidation of the three plots and departures permitting 87%, in lieu of 60%, of the property to be built on.

An application to demolish the three buildings on the site has been submitted to Heritage Western Cape.

Tommy Brummer, in its application to the City, says the proposed development will fit the landscape and surrounding buildings and deleting title-conditions to permit flats won’t hurt property values in the area. Instead, the firm argues, the flats will improve the safety and security of the Braemar Estate.

But Stuart Burnett, chairman of the Built Environment Committee of the Green Point Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association (GPRRA), said they opposed the demolition of the three existing heritage-graded houses.

Mr Burnett said the streetscape of Braemar Road was almost exclusively single residential homes, forming part of the Braemar Estate.

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The title deed restrictions, originally introduced for all properties in the Braemar Estate, had, in almost all cases, been retained in the area and had ensured almost total compliance with the single residential quality, he said.

“The developer now wishes to have the title deed restrictions deleted for these three properties to remove the restrictions on the number of dwellings permitted and the proportion of the site that can be built on. Secondly, the developer wishes to consolidate the three sites into a single erf. This step would also allow for a significantly larger development,” he said.

The developer has applied for significant departures from the already generous GR5 zoning limits, requesting a ground coverage of 87% rather than the zoned 60%, he said.

“We encourage all Braemar Estate residents to lodge objections to the proposed removal of title deed restrictions, consolidation of the three erven, coverage and set-back departures, plus any other aspects of the proposed development that is causing concern.”

Submissions in writing need to be made to the specified Table Bay district office on or before the closing date. Alternatively, the application can be viewed at http://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Have-your-say/Land-use-applications/70431761