Permit - 373731

The following application pertains to the proposed Maintenance Management Plan for the Robben Island Museum and associated maintenance works, located on Robben Island, farm nr. 1436, within the jurisdiction of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Western Cape Province in accordance with Section 27(18) of the National Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999. Robben Island has a long history in South Africa as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment. The island has history from the precolonial era, the earliest travellers to South Africa, the Dutch occupation period, the British occupation period, the military period, apartheid period and currently as a museum, National Heritage Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Overview of Content:

The Maximum Security Prison was built by the apartheid state between 1965 and 1966 to house political prisoners. The prison has a distinctive functional architectural and aesthetic, making use of a functional modernist architecture. The buildings are built around courtyard spaces while its entrances show a clear threshold between freedom and incarceration with highly significant spaces including cells and courtyards. 

The Maximum Security Prison is of high significance as the space in which the majority of non-white political prisoners were held during the apartheid era. It is a focal point for activity on the Island with its relationship to the harbour and many tourist routes routes converging at the building. It is associated with many prominent anti-apartheid struggle figures and organizations and has become symbolic of the anti-apartheid movement. It as no scientific and technological significance nor does it have spiritual and linguistic significance. The proposed activities aligns with the statutory provisions intended to protect and conserve South Africa's national heritage resources.

The purpose of this application is for the proposed Maintenance Management Plan for the Robben Island Museum and associated maintenance works on the Maximum Security Prison with the following building reference numbers: B080 – B108. The following supporting documents were reviewed in assessing this application:

• 01 RIM MMP_Heritage Report_Rev 7.pdf
• 02 Appendix A_RIM Map.pdf
• 03 Appendix B_RIM MMP Condition Assessment Report_ Rev B July 2024.pdf
• 04 Grouping 2_Corrective Maintenance.xlsx
• 05 Appendix B_RIM MMP TERMS OF REFERENCE.pdf
• 06 Appendix C_Public Consultation Report.pdf
• 07 Appendix D_Grouping 2 Photographic Documentation.pdf
• Preventative Maintenance_Group 2.xlsx
• RIM MMP_Broll letter of authority.pdf
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