29 May 2026

Dear Members,

I write to you today on important developments regarding our club.

Many of you will have seen the recently released document outlining the proposed development affecting the future of the King David Mowbray Golf Club and surrounding areas. What the City of Cape Town’s Draft Development Concept Information Document suggests is certainly not a minor change to Pinelands. If the City is somehow successful with the process, it would mean the end of our Club, which has a proud and inclusive history and plays a large role, not only in our community, but in South African golf.

By way of clarification, the Club has eight years remaining on its lease with the City, a term that is unlikely to be altered, particularly given the long time horizons associated with the proposed development.

We are also pleased that after engagement with the City and in particular our mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, the 2-year cancellation clause will soon be removed from our lease, securing the immediate future of the club for at least the next eight years. This, however, does not diminish the necessity of taking action.

What is even more troubling is the scale of the proposed development. It will introduce approximately 6,700 new residential units into Pinelands. For some perspective, this is more than half of the total number of existing units in the entire suburb. The proposal also includes provision for nearly 75,000m2 of commercial and industrial facilities. Such a rapid expansion of the built environment will materially alter the character, infrastructure, and traffic of Pinelands, as well as place immense pressure on existing municipal services, including, for example, water and sewerage systems which are already under severe strain. In addition, approximately 13,000 additional school-going children will reside in the new development putting additional and unsustainable strain on local schools, even with the planned addition of one new school.

Early engagement last year by the City already elicited strong and widespread opposition from residents and stakeholders. Last year a petition opposing the development received 3000 signatures within weeks. The petition is still available for signature here: https://kingdavidmowbraygc.co.za/save-our-course/ – please add your name to this petition if you have not already.

There is something irreplaceable about spaces like ours. The 115-year-old King David Mowbray Golf Club stands as a beacon of inclusion, development and heritage within Cape Town. The proposed development threatens to end the club’s unique role in supporting local employment through golf tourism, providing access to disabled golfers, fostering youth development programs, and preserving vital green spaces in the city.

None of this is to suggest that development has no place in our city. It certainly does. But development must be proportionate and responsive to the communities in which it occurs. It should also be rational. There are much more appropriate pieces of land that can be developed in Cape Town – land that does not require billions of rands spent on civil works just to ensure that flooding and other environmental issues are managed. The economic and environmental value of our Club, as well as its significance as a place of community and heritage, surely makes it an extraordinary asset to the city that should be protected.

I therefore urge every member to take the time to understand the extent of the proposed development, and to lend your voice to the growing body of opposition to it.

There will be a Public Open House on Saturday, 20 June 2026, between 10:00 – 14:00, at the Club, where the city will set out the draft proposal.

The draft proposal can be found here: Information Document King David Mowbray Golf Course and surrounds.pdf

As part of the KDMG community, I ask that you add your comment on the proposal, which can be given by email at: mowbray@infinity.capetown – and please share this link as widely as you can, so that we can protect this vital community asset for generations to come. Comments close on 6 July 2026.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Flax