Cape Town drafts new data centre rules as hyperscale rezoning stays suspended
Written on
The City of Cape Town has begun drafting refined development guidelines for large-scale data centre applications, confirming that a contested hyperscale rezoning approval remains suspended while an appeal is decided.
The City of Cape Town has begun drafting refined development guidelines for large-scale data centre applications, marking its first formal acknowledgement that current municipal approval frameworks require systemic reform. The policy shift arrives alongside confirmation that a controversial rezoning approval granted in July for a hyperscale facility remains suspended.
Alderman Eddie Andrews, Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, confirmed that under local municipal planning bylaws any land-use approval remains suspended once an appeal is submitted, until a final determination is made. The appeal report is being finalised for review by Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Andrews said the municipality is actively formulating updated development guidelines tailored specifically to the infrastructure demands of hyperscale computing facilities. It remains unconfirmed whether the emerging guidelines will apply retroactively, and he declined to comment on the specific merits of the pending appeal.
US digital infrastructure operator Equinix, named as the intended operator across project filings, clarified that the Cape Town property represents a long-term land bank holding. The company confirmed it has submitted no immediate planning or development applications for the site, adding that any future construction would depend on prior approvals.
Even so, Equinix's operational timeline does not make the pending appeal moot. Under Section 35(1) of Cape Town's Municipal Planning By-law, land-use rights vest in the land itself rather than in the applicant or property owner, so if the contested rezoning survives the appeal the site would permanently retain hyperscale data centre rights.
The appeal was mounted by the Housing Assembly and UK-based non-profit Foxglove, represented by the Legal Resources Centre. The legal challenge targets a July 14 decision by the Municipal Planning Tribunal, which approved the rezoning in a 4-1 vote despite what appellants call significant information gaps on projected grid power draw, water consumption, diesel generator emissions and building designs. Dissenting tribunal member Wally Johnstone, a lead urban planner, argued in his minority opinion that the public retains a fundamental right to understand how large-scale utility approvals affect grid stability and municipal resource distribution.