Tsogo Sun Cape Town Hotel and Casino at Somerset West Stalled
Cape Town residents now have more time to make public comments about a proposal from Tsogo Sun to build a new hotel and casino at Somerset West. This was due to an advert’s spelling error.
Advert Typo
Casino operators are used to delays and lawsuits when it comes to developing and running their multi-million dollar casino resorts. Tsogo Sun, one of the biggest casino operators in South Africa will not be pleased that this new delay is over a grammatical mistake. The proposed casino project has caused the local community to be upset and this additional time period will work in favor of them.
Brett Herron is the transport and urban development’s mayoral committee member. Herron stated the application was advertised originally on July 6 while the comment period ended on Aug. 6. The original advert included a typo and required it to be re-advertised. The re-advertising period began on Aug. 5 and will end Sep. 3. Afterwards the developer will respond to all comments the City receives.
When the developer has responded to all objections or comments the City will create a report. It will contain all public comments and developer’s responses to the comments. Herron stated the Municipal Planning Tribunal will make a decision after the compiled report and required documents like the development application are served.
Assessing the Situation
An assessment of social impact showed that the proposed hotel, casino, and restaurants would create 650 permanent and outsourced jobs. Meanwhile, 100 of the permanent jobs will be low-skilled, 200 will be semi-skilled, and 350 will be skilled. Businesses that offer services to the hotel, casino, and restaurants would create an extra 300 job opportunities.
Herron also noted the City had not conducted in-house studies on the proposed casino’s economic effects. He stated all of the information considered or interrogated will help to create the assessment report whenever the Municipal Planning Tribunal receives a recommendation to be considered.
Tsogo Sun- division Headland and Southern Sun applied for rezoning. It states part of the land was a portion of Somerset Golf Course yet Tsogo Sun bought the site for developing a hotel and casino. This includes land for restaurants and retail outlets since they are typically included in a casino complex. The two buildings include the casino building and a structure for multiple-parking linked to the casino.
