Children play in rubble amid 'heritage' standoff

Rubble on the doorstep of a Cape Town school has not only led to the injury of young children but has become the focus of a bitter standoff between a community and local government officials who disregarded regulations to get rid of ''historic'' buildings.

Last year the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works started demolishing buildings in De Novo in Kraaifontein without lodging an application with the heritage resources authority.

Heritage Western Cape head Andrew Hall said they issued their colleagues with a ''stop works order'' after the De Novo Loodskomitee raised concern.

That was in September. Since then many children from Lawrensia Primary School have been injured while playing in the ruins. School Governing Body chairman John Alexander said in the latest incident on Tuesday a boy's face had been cut open.

"We have asked public works to remove the rubble because it is dangerous,'' said Alexander.

For now nothing can be done.

Hall said the department had since brought an application for demolition but they had to submit a heritage statement, which tests the community's contention that the buildings have heritage value.

Siphesihle Dube, spokesman for Transport and Public Works MEC Donald Grant, said the buildings were in a state of disrepair and posed a serious health and safety risk.

"There has been care to ensure that the community was aware of what is happening on site, with clear restrictive signage and danger tape displayed for easy identification on strategic points of all buildings. Unauthorised access to the site is strictly prohibited. Children should not be allowed to play on the site by those responsible for their care,'' said Dube.

De Novo Loodskomitee spokesman Henry Gouws said the department should erect fences to keep the children out.

"How can you tell children where to play?”

He also accused the provincial government of not caring about the ''history of coloured people''.

De Novo, he said, was given to coloured World War 2 veterans by the king of England.

"They were to live there rent-free and to cultivate the land. Each got a house and two hectares of land,'' said Gouws.