The Best Buddies Educare Centre is located in Albert road in Hout Bay.
A Hout Bay preschool might have to close after the City said it was “not authorised” to operate as a school.
The Best Buddies Educare Centre was founded in 1986 and offers sponsorships and education for disadvantaged children, according to its website.
The non-profit preschool, which has 16 full-time staff and 77 children from the ages of three months to 5 years old, faces possible closure by the end of the year as the City has not approved its land-use application, says owner Tasja White.
“It’s being said by the City of Cape Town that Best Buddies does not have the land use rights to operate as a school. Although the school has been operational for 38 years. When I purchased Best Buddies from the previous owner, Angie Long, I assumed everything was in place, but it clearly wasn’t,” Ms White said.
Mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said the preschool was “unauthorised” to operate as an early childhood development centre.
“The owner has submitted a land-use application to legalise the activity, which is being processed by the City. All early childhood development centres are required to be registered with the environmental health department and with the Western Cape government.”
Ms White maintains the school is registered with the environmental health department.
And Ms Long sent Sentinel documentation showing that Best Buddies had been registered with the provincial Department of Social Development, in 2017, as a creche and educare, catering for up to a maximum of 77 children, with the registration expiring in February 2022.
“We had all the certificates, clearances for the 34 years, and we have proof of everything. I definitely would not have been able to run the school without all the proper licences and checks from the fire, health department and social services” she said.
“We were definitely licensed and legal with all the neighbours permission. Best Buddies licence was renewed every five years since 1986,“ Ms Long said.
Another document showed the City’s health department had inspected the school in 2019 and found its toilets and classrooms were “safe and satisfactory”.
This is the second time that the school has faced closure.
in 2019, Ms Long, said the school would close due to a drop in new admissions (“Buddies preschool shutting its doors,” Sentinel, March 2019).
Ms White said the school’s application for permanent land use as a place of instruction had been submitted in February last year. She added that a “handful of neighbours” had lodged objections, with noise being “one factor of many”, and the City had served the school with a “cease operation” notice last year.
“I had to pay an admin penalty to remain open, and then I was summonsed to appear in court on Wednesday September 30 this year. The City claims there has never been land use approval to operate a school,“ Ms White said.
Ms White said the land-use application had been awaiting approval for almost two years now.
The preschool’s registration with Department of Social Development expired in 2022, and it was now re-registering, but it needed the land-use consent to do that, she said.
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Milicent Merton said: "We have been informed that the owner is considering closing the facility due to municipal compliance challenges. We requested our registration support organisation to provide guidance to the facility.“
Asked if the school faced eviction if the matter was not resolved, Mr Andrews said: “The owner has submitted a land-use application to legalise the activity, which is being processed by the City. We have no further comment.”
Mr Andrews said the court case had been postponed to Monday January 27 next year for the outcome of the land-use application.
Gemma Soukoup has started a petition to keep the preschool open.
“If forced to close, working parents will face childcare challenges, potentially driving more households into financial distress. Moreover, the school’s permanent staff members, who are the sole breadwinners, will be left jobless, adding further strain to the community. Closing the school is not just an educational loss - it risks triggering a cycle of poverty and diminished growth for Hout Bay’s future,“ she said.
The issue has sparked a flurry of comment on Facebook’s Hout Bay Complete Group.
Linda Wanjiru Baiyewu said: “this news affects me personally as my daughter attends Best Buddies. I struggled as a remote-working mom with a young child, but sending her to Best Buddies gave me peace knowing she was in a safe, nurturing environment.”
Beanca Lotriet said: “as a previous resident of Albert road (just two houses from the school) the noise is nothing to complain about. We loved staying there. Best buddies does so much for the kids and local residents.”
Verna Arendse said: “Wow, when I first came to Hout Bay that was the first crèche that I heard of. Best Buddies, I’m crossing my fingers for all of you guys.”
Camilla Bernal added: “Best Buddies must have been there way before any of these complainers bought their properties! They knew they purchased a home next to a preschool. They are one of the few full day care operators in the Bay.”
Brett Lawrence said: “I am absolutely disgusted that any person in our Hout Bay community would do this. I have grown up in this lovely village. Both of my sons attended Best Buddies, which is a place of nurturing, not a place of ill repute.”
Ward councillor Roberto Quintas said: “It seems unfortunate that this matter had resulted in court action and as such the legal court processes must take their course. I would, however, hope that the courts allow for a full and due process to occur for the regularisation of Best Buddies before making a ruling.”
Ms White started a WhatsApp group, Save Best Buddies, on Tuesday October 15 and it has more than 240 members.
There will be a parents meeting at the preschool on Thursday October 24, according to owner and principal Tasja White.
For more information email info@bestbuddies.co.za or contact the school at 063 307 4121.