Protea Village families mark redevelopment progress 20 years after winning land claim
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Families removed from Protea Village in Bishopscourt under the Group Areas Act returned to the area to report on the redevelopment of land won back through restitution, where roads and streetlights are in place but homes are still to be built.
A group of families who won their land claim 20 years ago returned to Protea Village in Bishopscourt, Cape Town, on Monday to provide an update on the redevelopment of their land. The families form part of a group of around 200 households removed from the area during apartheid under the Group Areas Act.
Protea Village dates back to 1834, when freed slaves settled on land near the former Protea Farm, and residents helped establish Kirstenbosch Gardens in 1910. After the area was declared Whites Only in 1957, around 200 families were forcibly removed in 1959.
Of those affected, 86 families chose to have their land restored after lodging restitution claims rather than accept financial compensation, while 46 families took compensation. A sod-turning ceremony was held in March last year, marking a major step in the redevelopment process.
Roads and streetlights are now in place on the restored land, but homes still need to be built. An 83-year-old former resident, who was removed to Lotus River, hopes to return with his wife. "I'm 83 years old. I don't know how long God is still gonna give me, but I want to show her where we used to walk," he said.