Imhoff Farm set for expansion

Cape Town - The popular Kommetjie homestead Imhoff Farm is set to expand its commercial footprint with a retail and office complex and, possibly, even medical facilities.

On Tuesday, the mayoral committee (Mayco) gave its approval to increase the maximum building floor area from 4 000m2 to 10 000m2.

A popular tourist stop-off on the way to Cape Point, the homestead houses a cafe, while the stables, silo, smithy, slave quarters and milking sheds are occupied by local artists, food, furniture and craft shops.

Less than 2 000m2 of the 4 000m2 permitted floor area is developed, with the farm also accommodating an equestrian centre and petting zoo.

The farm has been owned by the Van der Horst family since 1912. Evert van der Horst is also behind the proposed development of more than 300 houses in Kommetjie, which was also approved by Mayco yesterday.

In a report considered by Mayco, the applicant said further development on the farm would lead to an increase in employment opportunities for low-income areas such as Ocean View.

The report said: “The surrounding areas are currently not well served in terms of commercial and retail facilities and thus will benefit from an increase in commercial floor space.”

The applicants said the developments would minimise the need for people living in the area travelling to neighbouring areas for services and it would have a positive effect on traffic congestion in the area.

“The purpose of the additional floor space is to establish a proper local node that goes beyond just short-term shopping use,” the report said.

But the only objectors to the application, the Kommetjie Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (KRRA) disagreed. It viewed the proposal as “excessive”, given other new commercial development in the area.

The association said in a written submission to the council: “The ramifications of such accelerated development include a general sense of social unease, an emphasised disparity between poor and middle class and a rapid loss of sense of place.”

On Tuesday, KRRA chairman Patrick Dowling said the association stood by its view that the area was unsuitable for further development until infrastructural and traffic issues were addressed.

“Extending the footprint of the existing site, in our mind, contributes to the overall pressure and stress on the local infrastructure,” he said.

Dowling said allowing more upmarket commercial development was deleterious to poor communities living across the road from Imhoff Farm, such as in Ocean View, which needed better services and infrastructure. “By approving developments like this, the city is steering resources away from people who need it most.”

The applicant has promised to keep developments in line with existing farm buildings in terms of height, massing and placement.

lindsay.dentlinger@inl.co.za

CAPE ARGUS