Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana has stepped in to try to block a 20000-unit Cape Town housing project on land earmarked for development by the Western Cape government. An environmental impact assessment for the 479ha "Oakland City" was recently approved by the Western Cape MEC for local government, environmental affairs and development planning, Anton Bredell.The development includes schools, shops, and even a private prison, which the developers claim will uplift the "economically depressed" area.But Zokwana, who visited the site last month, has initiated an appeal against Bredell's approval of the impact assessment, the Sunday Times established this week.This follows a request for assistance from small farmers who fear the province is trying to drive them off one of Cape Town's last parcels of undeveloped land, known as the Philippi Horticultural Area, or PHA.The 3,000ha area, sandwiched between suburbs, produces about half of Cape Town's fresh vegetables but has been at the centre of a tug-of-war between developers and farmers for several years.block_quotes_start According to city policy, agricultural-zoned land must be protected from pressures of the urban edge and speculation, which makes farming unaffordable block_quotes_endOpponents of the development claim the project site was illegally included in the urban edge without rezoning approval and the city's own studies confirm there is alternative land to meet the city's housing requirements without destroying fast-disappearing farmland.But the developers believe the site falls outside the PHA and is already "disturbed" by sand mining - and therefore unsuitable for farming.Zokwana's spokesman did not respond to queries this week, but the Sunday Times has established that:The minister was approached by Philippi campaigners after Bredell ignored their pleas for further consultation; andMmaphaka Tau, the Department of Agriculture's deputy director-general of forestry and natural resource management, has since lodged an appeal in terms of the National Environmental Management Act.Four years ago the development was embroiled in financial controversy after it was reported that the land was bought by businessman Wentzel Oaker for R40-million, and then sold three years later to an investment fund for R403-million. Four pension funds are heavily invested in the development.story_article_left1Documents show that the Department of Agriculture in 2009 specifically turned down the City of Cape Town's request to have the development site rezoned from "horticultural" to "urban development".But two years later Bredell nonetheless proceeded to include the area within the urban edge.In its appeal document, the department emphasises the agricultural character of the land: "According to the data set on land capability this area is dominated by Class III, which means that the land is suitable to be used for agricultural purposes. The department is ... concerned about the loss of land suitable for being used for agricultural purposes."Farmer Nazeer Sonday, chairman of the PHA, welcomed Zokwana's intervention.Susanna Coleman, a PHA executive member, said Bredell's stance amounted to maladministration."According to city policy, agricultural-zoned land must be protected from pressures of the urban edge and speculation, which makes farming unaffordable, " she said.The developers could not be reached for comment.According to the "development scoping report" submitted to Bredell's office by environmental practitioners deVilliers Brownlie Associates, "the development complements a broader city strategy to regenerate and stitch this dormitory area back into the city fabric".Bredell's spokesman, Rudolf van Jaarsveldt, confirmed that the department had lodged an appeal...