Freedom Front Plus takes the responsible lead in the battle for the soul of Cape Town

VF Plus disputes City of Cape Town denial of 10,000 housing units in Fish Hoek.

On Monday the Cape Argus published a piece titled City of Cape Town denies plans for 10,000 low-cost housing units in Fish Hoek. In the article, the newspaper reported that the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) councillor Pieter Jansen van Vuuren’s claims about the City’s housing plans were “unfounded” and “misleading.”

Pieter Jansen van Vuuren and the VF Plus responded today, pointing to figures in the City’s own draft Masiphumelele Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) and calling for transparency and access to planning documents before any further development decisions are made.

Here is an English translation of their Afrikaans statement

The VF Plus has irrefutable evidence that the construction of 10,000 housing units is indeed under consideration in the DA-controlled City of Cape Town’s Masiphumelele expansion planning in Fish Hoek.

This figure forms part of the City’s draft Masiphumelele and Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) and appeared as such on the City’s own website.

Last week, the VF Plus responded to the matter in a media statement titled: “VF Plus demands sustainable housing solutions for Cape Town – not harmful overdevelopment that punishes taxpayers.”

A wave of outrage has been sweeping through Fish Hoek over the past few weeks regarding the expansion.

After the VF Plus statement, Mr Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, denied the figure in an article in the Cape Argus (“City of Cape Town denies plans for 10 000 low-cost housing units in Fish Hoek”, 24 November 2025).

He states, among other things: “The claim that 10,000 low-cost housing units are being planned for Fish Hoek is unfounded. It is a deliberate attempt to mislead residents.”

The article refers to the VF Plus statement as false scare tactics or “fear-mongering”.

Ironically, Mr Andrews himself explicitly mentioned the figure of 10,000 in an article on 17 August in the government publication SAnews (“Have your say on Masiphumelele development plan”) regarding the Fish Hoek expansion.

He writes, among other things: “Addressing the future housing need of over 10,000 units.”

Also: “Severe overcrowding (in Masiphumelele) with high density and a growing backlog in the provision of social facilities and services. The estimated future housing need is, for example, equivalent to more than 10,000 units.”

To the VF Plus, the meaning here is very clear.

The full draft document (LSDF), in which the figure of 10,000 is indicated in planning up to 2035, has since been removed from the City’s website. Copies were, however, made by the public and are also in the possession of the VF Plus.

In section 2 of the LSDF, it states, among other things: “The current estimated need for additional housing is ±6,000 (5,972) units, and with the expected continued rapid growth, a further ±5,000 (4,907) units will be required by 2035. This is a future housing need of more than 10,000 units.”

This is what Mr Andrews is now calling “unfounded claims” and “a deliberate attempt to mislead residents”.

This conduct by the City is nothing less than a blatantly dishonest attempt to mislead the public about the City’s own official planning.

The residents of Fish Hoek, Kommetjie, Noordhoek, Sun Valley and surrounding areas deserve the truth — not intimidation, deception, and denials in the media.

The VF Plus demands that all relevant documents be restored to the City’s website, that the City openly acknowledge what is being planned, and that an honest dialogue with the community be held before any further steps in the development are taken.