Cape Town - In spite of opposition from the community, the demolition of a building at 6 Kloof Road in Sea Point has been given the green light by the Heritage Western Cape’s appeal tribunal.
The independent tribunal approved the demolition, subject to the condition that the replacement building, measured from the existing ground level to the top of the roof, does not exceed 25m in height.
The structure is older than 60 years and is situated on erf 535 on a city block that is a triangular area bound by Regent, Kloof and Church roads.
The buildings on this block include the Sea Point fire station, a four-storey block of flats, and a double-storey municipal building.
In January, Heritage Western Cape approved the demolition of the building with conditions. This came after an initial approval for the building to be demolished without conditions, which caused outrage, because conservation lobby group the Simon van der Stel Foundation and the Sea Point, Fresnaye and Bantry Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association considered the building to be of heritage importance.
An appeal was lodged with Heritage Western Cape’s built environment and landscape committee.
The developer, Sun Property Investment, then appealed against the decision of the committee to Heritage Western Cape’s appeal tribunal, which upheld the appeal and overruled the committee’s decision.
The tribunal made six recommendations, one of which provided that the end goal must be to create a contemporary building with architectural merit that would not overwhelm the adjoining buildings in the triangle.
The Simon van der Stel Foundation’s chairperson, Ian Pretorius, said though substantial internal modifications had been made to the building, it still contributed positively to the architectural context in which it was situated.
He said the building was in a prominent position on the bend in Kloof Road and was a “sympathetic” neighbour to the four-storey building next to it.
Pretorius said the foundation believed the heritage resources on this key triangle should be protected to ensure the blend of modern and historic development styles in Sea Point was retained and enhanced.
Carlos Mesquita, who at the time of the application was a ward councillor candidate and who started a petition against the demolition, said demolishing the building would be detrimental to the area, and that it was sad that a historical and architectural design would be destroyed for some “upmarket high-rise for the wealthy”.
The Sea Point, Fresnaye and Bantry Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association said the demolition approval meant that no building of heritage value in Sea Point was safe from the same fate.