Cape Town approves housing on Seawinds park known as a gang 'killing field'

The City of Cape Town has approved a proposal to close the R7.6-million Seawinds park in Overcome Heights and use the site for housing, after the facility was stripped and became a flashpoint for gang violence.

The park opened in 2017 with a water play area, playground, two ball courts, a picnic area and outdoor exercise equipment, according to mayoral committee member for community services Francine Higham. Little remains beyond a dusty field with damaged brick structures and rusted equipment frames.

Residents describe the open field as dangerous. Ward councillor Mandy Marr told a council meeting in August that the park had become a gangsters' paradise used as a killing field, and community leaders said rival gangs shoot at each other across it and that bodies have been dumped there. The council approved the park's closure at that meeting to make way for the Overcome Heights Housing Project.

Carl Pophaim, mayoral committee member for human settlements, told GroundUp the City was still in the planning phase, with approval possibly taking about 18 months before construction could start. The development is expected to include pockets of open space for recreation.

Residents welcomed the decision. Nandipha Mputa, who lives in the adjacent informal settlement, said she looked forward to the project because her family's shack has a rotting roof, while community leader Portia Cevula called for a safe space for children as part of the new development.

The decision follows another fire in Overcome Heights this week in which 67 shacks and one formal dwelling were destroyed, affecting 198 people, according to Disaster Risk Management officials.