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Cynthia Clayton, ID Councillor in the City of Cape Town, has been inundated with complaints and questions from fellow Atlantis residents about a "secretive" attempt to establish an informal settlement development in Thomas Williams Crescent.

Residents have complained that the City appears to be acting "underhandedly" in trying to subdivide City-owned land and have it rezoned for an informal settlement.

‘I am very concerned about the lack of public consultation and participation in the City's procedure,' Ms Clayton says.

‘I am told that very few residents received letters asking for comment and that was it. The proposed rezoning will affect the entire Atlantis community and the City needs to consult widely and properly.

‘We have made several enquiries about this proposed development and we are being greeted by a deafening silence from City officials. I have also consulted with my council colleagues from other political parties and they are also in the dark,' says Clayton.

‘We are not sure why the City wishes to create an informal settlement here and where the residents will be coming from.

‘Atlantis is a poor community with very high unemployment and if the City intends moving people in from outside the area it will further burden the already stretched resources of the community and add to the unemployment,' Clayton says.

‘We can understand that there are people that are desperate for a place to live, but it is unacceptable that the City is making these kinds of decisions without consulting with the community.'

Cllr Clayton has been assisting residents to lodge objections.

She has also called on the City ‘to extend the deadline,' which is 6 September 2009, ‘to advertise the proposed rezoning application more widely, to provide the Atlantis community with real information and to properly consult with the community.'