Heritage Park Development

The imposing entrance to ‘Die Bos’ must surely give rise to questions about the origin of Heritage Park. The names of the streets in Helderberg Manor are indicative of the fact that the Morkel Estate is very much an integral part of this story. An account by André T. Morkel (April 2009) gives some of the early history:
“The family farm, Onverwacht, later The Bush or Die Bos has a special place for the family. Stamouer Philip Morkel and his wife Catharina Pasman settled there in 1713 and it became the oldest farm in South Africa to be passed down from father to son (1). Over the years pieces of land were added and subtracted, but the core remained intact – until it became part of the urban sprawl during the late 1900s.”

Project and Politics

The difficult economic climate, high interest rates and constant changes in the Municipal Management Structures (Somerset West Municipality becoming the Helderberg Municipality and thereafter being incorporated into the City of Cape Town Metropole) impacted on the Local Authorities ability to review and approve development rezoning.
The Municipal Condition which required that a Master Home Owners Association (MHOA) be established to manage all Common property; this turned the Development into a Private Estate, resulting in the SPBT having to re-focus its development planning into that of a secured ‘Village’.
There were some 208 families living in an informal settlement between Sir Lowry’s Village Roan and the railway line; the SPBT made 6.9 Hectares of land available for their relocation. Difficult negotiations finally resulted in the creation of the current Chris Nissan Park; this action resulted in less favourable Press coverage in 2006. ‘Fortified town plays on middle class fear of crime’ said the Mail and Guardian, ‘Safe within these walls’ was the Telegraph take while another headline was ‘Fenced in Citadel reflects Apartheid’s legacy of inequality’.