Local communities and media shut out of Equinix data centre appeal hearing as campaigners call on Mayor to decide before the elections
The appeal against the City of Cape Town’s approval of US data centre giant Equinix’s application to build 170MW of data centre next to Cape Town’s airport will go before the City’s Planning Appeals Advisory Panel on 12 October 2026. Foxglove and the Housing Assembly lodged the appeal and have been informed of the date by the City’s Planning Appeals office. Legal counsel in the case are Legal Resources Centre (LRC). The appeal concerns Erf 178931, Cape Town, Case ID 1500156580 also known as King Air Industria site.
The meeting will not be open to the appellants, members of the public or the media and its location has not been disclosed. The appellants have asked for a meeting with the Panel so they can put their case directly. The City has said this request will be considered at the meeting itself and may be declined, with the outcome communicated only afterwards.
While Equinix has seen a copy of the appeal and have submitted their response to the Panel, the appellants have been refused sight of Equinix’s response. The City has confirmed Equinix has answered the appeal but it has declined to share that response with Foxglove or the Housing Assembly.
The City has said that the appellants’ “right has been exercised and so has theirs.” This means the Panel will weigh arguments the appellants have not seen, in a meeting they cannot attend. The LRC regards the City’s refusal to release the applicant’s response as highly irregular and contrary to the principles of fair and just administrative proceedings and have accordingly noted their objections.
The Panel’s recommendation will go to the Appeal Authority, which is expected to be Cape Town Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews has already confirmed that the City “is in the process of formulating refined development guidelines for large data centre applications”.
The Mayor’s recommendation is also expected not to be made public or shared with media. Under the City’s by-law, the Authority has 90 days from the meeting to decide. That would allow a decision to be held back until January 2027, well after the local government elections on 4 November.
Foxglove and the Housing Assembly are calling on the Appeal Authority to commit to providing the decision before 4 November as the outcome will have a bearing on how residents vote come polling day. They are also calling on the City to provide Equinix’s response to the appellants and to commit now to publishing the Panel’s recommendation and its reasons, so that the people of Cape Town have the full information behind the decision.
Kenneth Matlawe, from the Housing Assembly, said: “Hundreds of thousands of families in Cape Town are still waiting for a decent home, and working-class communities live with water cuts and load reduction. Meanwhile, the City is clearing the way for a data centre that will draw on the same land, water and electricity our people are told are in short supply. Mayor Hill-Lewis is asking for votes on a promise of more housing. In four weeks, Capetonians will decide who runs this city, and they deserve to know before they vote whose side he is on. He has 90 days to decide this appeal, and he should not use them to push it past polling day. If the DA puts residents before data centres, it can show us before 4 November.”
Saadiyah Kadwa, attorney at the Legal Resources Centre, said: “A fair process means each side gets to see and answer what the other has said. The appellants were never shown Equinix’s response and as such are the only party not fully appraised of all the documents filed in the appeal. They have also been told that a decision on whether they get to address the panel has yet to be taken by the Planning Appeals Advisory Panel on 12 October 2026.”
Daniel Hartford, South Africa Lead at Foxglove, said: “Around the world, the race to build data centres is colliding with the basic needs of the communities expected to host them. If Big Tech wants to build data centres in South Africa, communities need honest and open conversations about the true costs – in critical resources, in electricity bills and to the environment. Not only has Equinix failed to come clean about this – they have instead withheld information and tried to confuse or misdirect the public and press who have simply tried to get clear answers to their questions about what is being planned.
“The City of Cape Town has already committed to reviewing its own regulations following our appeal. Given the Mayor’s deputy has accepted the rules need fixing, we suggest the most consistent thing to do is uphold our appeal, put further data centre approval on hold until a fit-for-purpose and properly participatory framework has been developed. This matters not only for Cape Town. The Mayor’s decision will be watched by every municipality in South Africa receiving these developments, and by every global operator eyeing the country as a data centre destination.”