Residents in Heideveld can breathe a sigh of relief as progress is being made in the demolition of the notorious "Creche of Death" in Jonkershoek Road.
The building which was a former creche known as Rainbow Educare has since become a hangout for criminals, while two dead female bodies have been discovered there in the last two years.
The most recent incident took place on Sunday evening when the body of an unidentified female was discovered allegedly naked in the vervalle gebou.
Last year, the charred body of a 40-year-old mother Hilda Lewis was found inside the same vandalised building after she had been murdered and set alight with paraffin.
Venessa Adriaanse from the Community Police Forum said that the community has engaged with the City of Cape Town in the past and aired their concerns about the dilapidated property and promises were made but were never delivered to redevelop the City-controlled premises.
She says: “We cannot understand why since December nothing has been done and no communication has come to the community. The sad part is that we have a lot of Early Child Development centres (ECDs) in our community but people have to use their home and personal space and turn it into a daycare.
"We have a lot of compliants from ECDs in Heideveld on the City of Cape Town database who can utilise that building. The community has been up in arms and in demand because we want this building to be demolished with immediate effect.
"We cannot go to bed and wait for another body to be found dead inside the creche, it is a health and safety hazard.”
When Daily Voice reached out to the City of Cape Town as to why the community’s demands have not been met, we were informed that plans to demolish the building is expected to be completed by 20 May 2025.
The City of Cape Town says: “There is currently a contractor on site to conduct the necessary work to demolish the building, and the project is estimated to be completed on 20 May 2025.”