Stellenbosch Municipality’s council recently adopted a motion to support an application to have a section of street in Stellenbosch be preserved as a Provincial Heritage Site.
This is according to municipality spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar.
An application to have the Aan de Wagen Weg area in Stellenbosch declared a Provincial Heritage Site (PHS), will be submitted to Heritage Western Cape by Remgro Limited, according to Pieter Koetzê, a representative of Remgro. This comes after the application received unopposed support by Stellenbosch Municipality in a council meeting on Friday 23 August. This is according to municipality spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar. PHOTO: Nkululeko Ndlovu
The application to have the Aan de Wagen Weg area – located in Stellenbosch Central near Dorp Street – is set to be brought to Heritage Western Cape by Remgro Limited, said Grobbelaar.
The motion was adopted on 23 August.
What makes Aan de Wagen Weg special?
The Aan de Wagen Weg area was an early wagon route into Stellenbosch during the 17th century, according to a document prepared by Arcon Specialist Architectural and Heritage Consultants on the motivation for Aan de Wagen Weg’s recognition as a PHS.
“Aan de Wagen Weg, if you know the history of Stellenbosch, it is one of the three routes from the early days of Stellenbosch, as they call it, wagon routes […] into Stellenbosch”, said Pieter Koetzê, a representative of Remgro Limited.
What is in it for Remgro?
Remgro did not directly state why they want to preserve the area in an interview with SMF News, but Koetzê said that the organisation has various properties in the area’s vicinity.
“What we have done there is restoration of old properties. […] We have properties on Aan de Wagen Weg, not only ours but other properties also,” said Koetzê.
The land in which the Aan de Wagen Weg area is situated also belongs to other owners, such as the municipality and other custodians, according to the council meeting’s agenda.
Remgro Limited representative Pieter Koetzê explains the historical significance of the Aan de Wagen Weg area.
“The issue came before council as Remgro needed a letter from the municipality to erect signs on a municipal road explaining the meaning of the heritage site. This included the motivation for declaring Aan de Wagen Weg as a PHS,” said councillor Marius van Stade, Stellenbosch Municipality councillor and representative of the GOOD Party.
‘We cannot turn a blind eye’
According to Grobbelaar, the vote to support Remgro’s application was adopted by majority vote, with 10 abstentions. Members of the GOOD Party, ANC, and EFF abstained, among others.
The GOOD Party chose to abstain from voting due to their belief that “more could have been done to acknowledge and recognise those residents of colour that [were] living in the Aan de Wagen Weg area,” according to Van Stade.
The Aan de Wagen Weg area served as an old wagon route into Stellenbosch, according to Pieter Koetzê, a representative of Remgro Limited. The company has various properties located in the area, according to Koetzê. PHOTO: Nkululeko Ndlovu
There are two sets of Rhodes Cottages on Aan de Wagen Weg, which were used for coloured farm worker housing in the early 20th century, under Rhodes Fruit Farms in the ownership of Cecil John Rhodes, according to Van Stade.
“However, the coloured farm workers residing at the Rhodes Cottages were later forcefully moved after this precinct was declared a White Group Area,” said Van Stade.
“GOOD Stellenbosch acknowledged the historical, architectural, and social value that elevates the cultural significance of this site. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to the spatial injustices done to the people of colour under the passing of the Group Areas Act in 1950 which continues to destroy the cultural heritage and identity of coloured people,” he added.