Plans to build a 68 000-seater stadium for Cape Town to host a 2010 Soccer World Cup semifinal got the green light from the provincial government on Friday when it dismissed a series of appeals.
The Western Cape province upheld the initial environmental authorisation and approved applications for the rezoning of the stadium grounds, provincial minister of environment and planning Tasneem Essop told reporters in Cape Town.
”Far from having a substantial detrimental effect on the environment, overall the new stadium and urban park on the Green Point Common will have a beneficial impact on the local environment and will benefit the broader Cape Town community,” she said.
Those opposing the authorisation included the Green Point Common Association, a residents’ body that cited environmental concerns and mooted court action.
The provincial government and World Cup organisers subsequently threatened to strip Cape Town of its World Cup host status if disputes over the planning process delayed construction.
On Friday, residents’ spokesperson David Polovin said talks with the city council were ongoing to seek a compromise deal, adding he was encouraged by concessions Essop made.
”We are trying to thrash out a solution,” he told the media. ”All of us want the best for Cape Town.”
The threatened court action has been put on ice until a mandate is obtained from residents at a public meeting planned for January 18.
”Our primary concern has always been the retention of a public open space and the latest proposals for an urban park appear to move a lot closer to meeting our needs,” said Polovin. ”There has been a definite improvement.”
The proposed stadium in the suburb of Green Point is one of few large enough to stage a semifinal — yet to be allocated to host cities.
Noting Essop’s decision, the Cape Town city council stressed its commitment to public consultation in the final stages of the authorisation process.
”This is an important decision in the process of readying Cape Town to play its full role as 2010 host city and semifinal venue, while ensuring we leave a lasting legacy in the interests of all Cape Town’s citizens,” mayor Helen Zille said in a statement.
The council will meet on January 17 to consider granting authorisation for the newly rezoned Green Point Common, one of the final prerequisites for stadium construction to start.
Essop expressed confidence on Friday that enough time remained to complete the stadium by the end of 2009, as required by world football body Fifa.
City officials have previously said construction should ideally start by mid-January.
The stadium is to be erected on 18ha of land currently occupied by a golf course. An existing, smaller, stadium is to be dismantled and the 85ha surrounding the new stadium is to be developed into an urban park.
Six months have been set aside for park development plans to be drawn up, including a public consultation process, which Essop said would not hold up construction of the stadium itself.
”It will give everyone in Cape Town and those living in the immediate vicinity an opportunity to determine the future layout of the urban park … which is to be retained as a sport, recreational and public open space,” the minister said.
South Africa is expecting nearly half-a-million foreign tourists during the World Cup in 2010, the first time the tournament is to be staged in Africa. Cape Town has traditionally drawn more visitors than other cities. — AFP
