LATEST NEWS OF INTEREST
Chameleon Schools Secures Planning Approval to Continue Operations
Published: 26 October 2025
Sybrand Park, Cape Town – In a significant win for local education and our community, the City's Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) has approved Chameleon Schools' application to operate as a centre of instruction and education on six erven zoned Single Residential 1 (SR1). The decision was handed down at the MPT hearing held on Tuesday, 21 October 2025.
Background on the Application
Chameleon Schools, located at 51 Eike Avenue in the heart of Sybrand Park, has been a cornerstone of early childhood development and junior education for over 30 years. The inclusive institution serves children from approximately three months to seven years old, fostering holistic growth in a nurturing environment. With a focus on integrated, dynamic learning, Chameleon has built a reputation for supporting diverse abilities and promoting community values.
The school's operations span multiple adjacent residential properties (erven), which fall under SR1 zoning—designated primarily for single-family housing. This zoning typically restricts commercial or institutional uses like educational centres without special consent. Chameleon's application sought rezoning or consent use approval to formalize its presence, addressing compliance with the City's Municipal Planning By-Law (MPBL).
The hearing, part of the MPT South Western session conducted via Microsoft Teams, considered factors such as community impact, traffic management, noise levels, and alignment with neighbourhood character. No major objections were reported from surrounding residents, and the tribunal emphasized the school's positive role in providing accessible education amid growing demand in the southern suburbs.
What This Means for Sybrand Park
- Educational Stability: The approval ensures continuity for current and future families, preventing potential disruptions seen in similar zoning disputes elsewhere in Cape Town (e.g., recent closures of other institutions due to non-compliance).
- Community Benefits: Chameleon contributes to local vibrancy through events like family fundays and market days, as highlighted in recent school social media posts. This ruling supports the Civic Association's advocacy for balanced land use that preserves residential peace while enabling vital services.
- Precedent for Future Applications: It underscores the MPT's willingness to grant consent for community-oriented uses in residential zones, provided environmental and neighbour impacts are mitigated—valuable for other local initiatives.
Latest news from the City of Cape Town for the week ending July 3, 2025, including the adoption of the "Invested in Hope" Budget
Cape Town Adopts Invested in Hope Budget (June 26, 2025)
The Cape Town Council approved the 2025/26 "Invested in Hope" Budget, totaling R76.4 billion, with a record R40 billion infrastructure program over three years. Key highlights include:
- Infrastructure Investments: R4.5 billion for MyCiTi bus expansion (Khayelitsha-Wynberg link), R3.5 billion for road upgrades and congestion relief, R3.4 billion for informal settlement improvements, and 100km of annual sewer replacements, including the Cape Flats sewer upgrade. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis emphasized a 20-year planning horizon, stating, “We’re budgeting for the next 20 years, not just 12 months.”
- Safety Investments: Over 700 new officers (500 ward-based metro police and 200 service delivery protectors) to enhance neighborhood policing across all wards.
- Rates Relief Measures: Expanded support includes a 100% pensioner rebate on rates and cleaning charges for incomes up to R10,000 monthly (up from R7,500), 50% rebates up to R20,000, and 20% and 10% discounts up to R24,000 and R27,000, respectively. The "first R450,000 rates-free benefit" now applies to homes valued up to R7 million. Electricity price relief reduces per-unit charges from July, and fixed water charges are now based on property value, benefiting 200,000 households under R2.5 million.
- Debt Write-Off Incentives: A R2.2 billion debt write-off plan targets pensioners, social grant recipients, indigent customers, civic organizations, and property owners with historical debt, encouraging payment arrangements.
- Cleaning Services: Expanded cleaning for highways and CBDs, with commercial customers temporarily contributing via electricity pricing.
Despite public support from lower-income residents, the budget faced criticism from civic groups and residents, who argue that tariff increases and new fixed charges disproportionately burden low- and middle-income households. Critics, including STOP COCT and the GOOD Party, claim the City ignored public concerns during consultations, with some exploring legal action.
Other Key News (Week Ending July 3, 2025)
- Draft 2050 Long-Term Plan Released (July 2, 2025): The City unveiled its draft 2050 plan, focusing on resilience, innovation, and circular economic practices. It includes a R800 million solar PV plant with battery storage for 70 MW of renewable energy and load-shedding protection, plus plans for waste-to-energy facilities and a new regional landfill. The plan is open for public comment.
- Backyard Housing By-Law Changes (June 27, 2025): The City amended its Municipal Planning By-Law to facilitate affordable backyard housing in lower-income areas, enabling micro-developers to meet housing demand while ensuring compliance and generating property tax revenue.
- Youth Violence at Malls (June 30, 2025): Escalating incidents of teenage violence at malls, notably Canal Walk, prompted calls for parental intervention and increased security. The Cape Crime Crisis Coalition urged youth-focused initiatives to address the issue.
- Public Opposition to Budget: Despite revisions following public feedback, critics argue the budget’s tariff hikes and fixed charges remain unaffordable. The City received over 14,000 submissions during the budget consultation, with concerns about poor infrastructure, by-law enforcement, and weak public engagement.
- Traditional Leadership Concerns (June 26, 2025): The GOOD Party criticized the City’s Integrated Development Plan for excluding traditional leadership, raising concerns about cultural representation.
Sentiment and Context
The "Invested in Hope" Budget has sparked polarized reactions. Supporters, including Mayor Hill-Lewis, highlight its long-term vision and relief measures, while critics argue it overlooks affordability challenges for poorer residents. Posts on X reflect this divide, with some praising the infrastructure focus and others decrying the burden on ratepayers. The budget’s passage amid public outcry underscores ongoing tensions over balancing infrastructure investment with affordability.
For more details on the budget, see the Mayor’s speech: https://bit.ly/44cHLyV. For the 2050 plan, public comments can be submitted via the City’s website.
4 June 2023- Ward 60 Diary-Water & Sanitation Technical Team Meeting in Sybrand Park
Oversight meeting to alleviate the issue of sewage overflow and flooding.
Richard Hill- 'Positive response from four City Engineering departments to tackle sewerage overflows and stormwater flooding in our neighbourhood. Action plan being developed, in first step I'm drawing up an Excel spreadsheet giving details of affected houses.'
6 December 2022 In a continuation of the legal battle over indigenous heritage and environmental protection, Tauriq Jenkins, high commissioner of the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC), has lodged an application for leave to appeal a recent judgment that stripped him of his authority to oppose the River Club development in the courts on behalf of the GKKITC. A Cape Times report notes that the legal battle saw the Western Cape High Court set aside an earlier judgment by Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath, who had in March interdicted construction at the River Club site. The initial interdict came after the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) and the GKKITC approached the court to stop the R4.6bn development from proceeding, citing irreparable harm and inadequate meaningful consultation. The full Bench of the High Court then revoked Judge Goliath’s interim interdict and revoked Jenkins’ authority to represent the GKKITC. Since the ruling, several indigenous leaders have come out in support of Jenkins and expressed their opposition to the River Club redevelopment. The Liesbeek Action Campaign said: ‘When the court refused late filing of an affidavit from HC Jenkins and postponement of the proceedings, these decisions could not have been made reasonably. As a unified campaign, we will continue the fight for recognition of the heritage significance of the site, which is currently being considered for protection by SA Heritage Resources Agency.’
21 October 2022 Copper cable thieves jailed, with kingpin still at large
Prasa hopes that a stiff sentence two copper thieves received will send a strong message to criminals targeting essential infrastructure. Yesterday, Prasa hailed the judgment handed down by the Heidelberg Magistrate’s Court earlier this week, which saw the sentencing of two illegal immigrants to 15 years direct imprisonment for theft and smelting of stolen Prasa copper cables and assets worth R2.6m.
7 October 2022 Cape Town the 9th best city in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveller readers
Cape Town has received yet another destination accolade with readers of the international magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, naming it the 9th best city in the world.
This is the latest of several top listings for the Mother City, with the global Timeout.com brand giving Cape Town the 11th spot in its '53 best cities in the world' list.
In its write-up of Cape Town's 9th-place listing, Condé Nast noted the 'pristine beaches', and 'world-renowned hotels'.
28 September 2022 Observatory Civic Association v Aufrichtig (River Club)- Western Cape High Court:
Observatory Civic Association v Aufrichtig NO and Others (Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council Intervening)
Judgment: 20 September 2022
Keywords: Civil procedure – Applications – Urgency – Supreme Court Act 10 of 2013, s 18(1)
Summary: The High Court, per Goliath DJP, had granted an interim interdict which prevented Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (the Trust) from undertaking any further construction pending meaningful consultations with First Nations Peoples (FNP), and the review application in terms of NEMA. As soon as leave to appeal was granted by the SCA, the Trust recommenced construction. Observatory Civic Association (OCA) launched an urgent application for an interdict prohibiting the Trust from undertaking further construction of the development on the River Club site. The order was to operate as an interim interdict pending determination of the contempt application. The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin (GKKITC) applied for leave to intervene, contending that the application was an abuse of court, that the order obtained before Goliath was fraudulently obtained, and that if the construction of the River Club Development does not proceed, their constitutional rights to the recognition of their culture would be infringed. Amongst other things, the Trust disputed urgency.
Discussion: Dolamo J considers the history of the litigation, the Trust’s contention that the order was suspended by virtue of the provisions of s 18(1) of the SC Act, the contempt application which was launched by OCA but did not proceed, the dispute between the factions as to the identity of the real Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin (GKKITC) and the factions, the application by one faction to withdraw as second applicant from the contempt of court application, and seeking leave to intervene. He further considers that the plethora of interlocutory applications and counter-applications launched by the warring factions appears to have thwarted the hearing of the rescission and Rule 41 applications. Dolamo considers OCA’s reliance on Ndabeni and ‘rule of law harm’, its contention that Goliath’s order is provisional as contemplated under s 18(2), and the Trust’s contentions that the order was final as it imposed immediate obligations to consult, premised on the final findings of inadequate consultation with the FNP. He also considers the Trust’s contention on an alternative remedy (the contempt application to be heard on 11 and 12 October). He finds that the dispute of who the true GKKITC is, is fuelled by deep-rooted sentiments which will not be adequately addressed in the current application and that the factions are determined to out-litigate each other. He also finds that the GKKITC has shown that it has a direct and substantial interest in the matter. On urgency, he approves East Rock Trading and finds that that OCA got sucked into the dispute involving the splinter groups within the GKKITC because it and the ‘original’ GKKITC are represented by the same firm of attorneys. Dolamo states that the failure to proceed with the hearing of the contempt application in August 2022 without any reasonable explanation leads to the inescapable conclusion that the urgency in the current application is self-created. Approving Schweizer Reneke Vleis Mpy, he states that he is not persuaded that the matter is urgent.
Order: The intervening application is granted and the application for the interdict is struck off the roll.
Another setback in Amazon case (28 September 2022)
The opposition to the R4.6bn Amazon office development in Cape Town is facing yet another setback after the attorney for the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) and the indigenous group withdrew from the main legal matter in October due to a lack of funding. A Business Day report notes the construction of the R4.6bn office block began in September 2021 and was halted by a court interdict granted to the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council and the Observatory Civic Association. Western Cape Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath ruled in March that economic benefits and infrastructure development should not trump the rights of indigenous people. The appeal to Goliath’s ban by the developers, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape government and the First Nations Collective has been set down for a hearing by a full Bench of the High Court on 11 and 12 October. A faction of the Goringhaicona group claims that Tauriq Jenkins, who brought the first court case in opposition to construction, does not represent the group and wants him removed and the building ban rescinded. This leadership battle was also to be heard in October. But attorneys Cullinan & Associates said that ‘unfortunately we had to withdraw (from) the appeal hearing in October when both attorneys dealing with the matter are out of the country, and our client, the OCA, has not been able to raise sufficient funding to enable us to continue representing them’. The developer, the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust, has written to Cullinan, saying it expected the appeal to go ahead in October. It said all parties were informed of the full court appeal hearing dates during a meeting on 11 August. The developer said it expects court papers to be filed by Jenkins and the Observatory residents as required by today. It wants to hear how the groups intend proceeding on 11 October ‘whether by appearing personally or by appointing new attorneys. Finally, we also expect his firm to tender an explanation for their belated withdrawal, if required by the court.’
Questions raised about 'rehabilitation' of River Club site (23 June 2022)
Questions have been raised about the legality of developers, the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust’s (LLPT) intentions to commence with ‘riverine rehabilitation and remedial activity’ on the River Club site while they wait for the outcome of their application for leave to appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). According to a Cape Times report, Western Cape High Court Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath had interdicted construction on the site pending review proceedings, saying the fact that the development has economic benefits can never override the fundamental rights of the First Nations People – which were under threat if the development was allowed to proceed. Earlier this month, the LLPT had filed an urgent application for leave to appeal in the SCA against Judge Goliath’s decision. Last week, LLPT trustee and spokesperson, James Tannenberger, said the work would include rehabilitation of the riverine corridor and re-naturalising a 25 to 40m eco-corridor extending along the Liesbeek River and merging with the confluence of the Black River. ‘The work on the River Club property will continue lawfully, and pending determination of LLPT’s leave to appeal application, which is pending before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), and any appeal that may or will follow,’ said Tannenberger. But the Liesbeek Action Campaign (LAC) said nothing that was approved by the City’s rezoning or the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning’s environmental authorisation is ‘legal at this point’ as the interdict remained in place. The LAC’s Professor Leslie London said that: ‘He may be saying that in order to pretend they are not precluded from proceeding with the construction – which is very much the case’.
https://capetimes.pressreader.com/article/281608129105863
Amazon Development latest (6 June 2022) from Legalbrief Today
Developers have said if the interdict stopping construction of the Amazon Observatory office park is not lifted soon, the development will be canned, leaving residents without a public park, affordable housing, cycling trails and almost R4bn in road upgrades. A Business Day report notes in March, Western Cape Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath interdicted construction of the office park – which has Amazon as an anchor tenant – and ordered fresh consultations with Khoi and San people, some of whom are opposed to the development. In new court papers filed at the SCA, the developer – the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT) – said the delays in construction mean it is unlikely to finish building by November 2022 and hand over to anchor tenants by December 2023 as contractually required. It said further delays could stop the development completely, leaving it with losses ‘in excess of R386m’. After stopping construction, Goliath denied those in favour of the development a chance to appeal against her decision. She said the appeal had little chance of success in a different court. However, last week the Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town, the First Nations Collective and the developer filed papers at the SCA asking for the right to appeal against her interdict.
The Western Cape Government said it was unusual for it to get involved in such matters, but the ruling had a significance greater than the R4.6bn office development. The Business Day report says the province and the City of Cape Town feared that the interdict, which stopped construction, makes the province unattractive to development and job creation. The local and provincial governments are concerned the ruling makes it easier to use the court to interdict developments even after years of provincial and municipal approval processes. The LLPT said if the development is delayed much longer and eventually terminated, unfinished buildings, a disused degraded golf course, polluted rivers, a conference centre and a parking lot could be left behind. It argued that when Goliath stopped the development to uphold First Nation group rights, she disregarded the rights of the public. The public will benefit from the development through the R3.9bn earmarked for road upgrades over seven years and through the creation of the public park, inclusionary housing and jobs, it said. The ‘financial and material harm’ it is suffering was not taken into account by the judge either when she weighed up the different parties’ rights, the developer said.
Liesbeeck Action Campaign 29 May 2022
Two individuals and a public relations firm accused by groups against the now halted R4.5bn development at the River Club in Observatory of running a relentless misinformation campaign have rejected allegations of collusion. A Cape Argus report notes that DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille, columnist Ivo Vegter, and Resolve Communications, a PR company connected to former DA leader Tony Leon, dismissed the accusations by the Liesbeek Action Campaign (LAC). The LAC had alleged they colluded to create doubt on the authenticity of indigenous groups opposed to the development on what the groups considered sacred land. The LAC and its partners want to preserve the site as part of the national estate. Both the DA-run city and the provincial Department of Environmental Affairs have authorised the development. ‘It should be lost on no one that this is an all-white bench of commentators pronouncing on what’s best for indigenous people,’ an LAC statement read. They accused their detractors of holding ‘paternalistic, arrogant assumptions’ and said they should take the trouble to listen to indigenous people, like the 61 groups that sought heritage status for the area and the many comments from indigenous people who signed a petition which had collected more than 73 000 signatures. Approached for comment, Zille said: ‘Anyone can make any allegations they like. Unless they can produce the evidence, it has zero credibility.’ Issuing his denial, Vegter said his published views, in two columns on the subject, were entirely his own.
Update on the River Club Development 29 May 2022
Observatory Civic Association
Dear friends and supporters
I am writing to you to update you on the River club development
1. The Court process:
– As you know, Judge Patricia Goliath delivered a ground-breaking judgement on March 18th to halt the construction at the River Club site pending the High Court review of the rezoning and Environmental Authorisations decisions. She also ordered that there should be meaningful consultation in recognition of the failure of existing processes to recognise the living heritage of the site.
– The developers applied for leave to appeal the interdict but on May 5th, Judge Goliath refused leave to appeal as there were no convincing grounds that another court would come to a different decision.
– The developers have now indicated they will apply to petition the Supreme Court. We have not heard further if they have applied.
– In the meanwhile, the Review Hearing is rolling out. The City and Province have just submitted their documents (grounds for decision) so we have a short period to submit our case, to which they reply and then we submit our final responses and it then waits for a date in court. The documents we have to review are more than 100 000 pages!
– So, we will be under a lot of pressure in the meanwhile. We are particularly grateful to our attorneys and advocates who are doing monumental work in navigating a very complex legal application.
2. The consequences of the LLPT’s reckless infill of the river valley:
– In the meantime, the developers have announced on Facebook they are effecting some repairs to the river, which they claim are in line with the approved EMPr. It’s not entirely clear that is the case. What they are doing is rectifying the disastrous situation they have created by infilling the old Liesbeek channel (which has severely aggravated the flood risk to adjacent properties and the risk of damage to the site) and they are repairing parts of the canal wall that had collapsed following work on the site.
– In their usual obfuscating communications, they have claimed they are doing “critical work” in the Black River, Liesbeek River and Liesbeek Canal, “and on the tapestry of City of Cape Town-owned immovable properties that surround the River Club site” that is “in compliance with the approved Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) in place for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the area.”
– In fact, what they are doing is preventing an environmental disaster when the winter floods arrive, which is entirely a situation of their own doing by recklessly proceeding with the infill of the Liesbeek River Channel and the construction work on the canal side and Black River while the interdict was still being considered. Note that they commenced with the infill of the Liesbeek River AFTER the interdict was heard in court in January, so they were fully aware that the ongoing construction was at their own risk. By infilling the Liesbeek and starting to excavate alongside the canal, they have created a flood disaster risk – including for homeowners and businesses situated in the lower parts of Observatory where stormwater will back up because it will not be able to be carried in the Liesbeek since its brutal infilling. It is entirely predictable that this was a disaster in the making so it is entirely appropriate that the LLPT take responsibility for it.
– The ‘tapestry of City of Cape Town-owned immovable properties that surround the River Club site’ is also an admission that their development hinges on the City making available public land (including the river course) for their development to proceed.
– The developer’s hubris extends to calling this a victory because they will require workers to conduct this work – as if they are creating jobs. But that is entirely as it should be since they created this mess in the first place.
– We will update you as soon as we hear further.
3. There are very rich resources on our FaceBook page:
– I also invite you to visit the FB page of the Liesbeek Action Campaign where you will see a wide variety of comments and testimonies. For example, I draw your attention to the powerful testimony from !Aru||Khuisi |Xam Chief Piet Barendse of the Kalahari |Xam, about why this particular piece of land is of such importance.
He states (translated from Afrikaans): “I’m !Aru||Khuisi Piet Berendse, I’m from the Kalahari, originally from up home in Upington. But from the start of the court case, I have been in the Cape. So, the reason why I’m standing here today in front of the buildings of the Liesbeek – where the buildings are being built. The reason why I’m speaking from my heart as a bushman, as a product of nature, as a product of the earth, I’m standing here to make my plea to our people. This place is a historical place for the values of our ancestors who walked along here. Such a place is very important for us to practice our cultural values, here. So, this place is exemplary of our values, where we can pass them on to the next generation.
This place is an important place for our heritage. This place carries the message of our values, carries the message for me as an example, standing in Cape Town today to send this image out to the world. So, this is a court case. We want this court case to end, to come to an end. We want to bring back the values, we want the truth. We want this thing, at end of the day, if I was no longer standing here, this should belong to my children’s children’s children’s children one day, to carry on our tradition our culture, our heritage and our values.”
4. A Public Meeting on what heritage, the environment and starlore means for the River Club and for our future:
– Lastly, please also feel free to attend a public discussion we are holding this Thursday at 4pm at the Observatory Community Centre Hall, Rawson Rd. The discussion will explore the links between heritage,the environment and starlore and what this means for our future, as it pertains to the River Club site – a sacred site under threat from the development. Speakers from the SAAO, FOL, the Khoi and San Unit at UCT and a community climate and food activist.
5. And lastly upon lastly, if you are able to assist us financially to support the court challenges:
– You can donate online, by EFT and by Snapscan.
– Donations to this campaign are eligible for a Section 18A SARS receipt towards tax deduction. Please alert info@liesbeek.org if you need a tax receipt for the current financial year.
Feel free to share this appeal with others, and if you have suggestions or potential funders, please email info@Liesbeek.org.
You can find much more information on our website and at our petition site and you are welcome to follow the Liesbeek Action Campaign on twitter: @LiesbeekAction.
Thanks
Leslie London
