Cannons Creek Independent School is a co-educational private school at 2 Nursery Way, Pinelands. It was founded in January 1997, and its primary and high schools sit alongside each other in Nursery Way with an adjacent sports field. A local history of Pinelands notes that the school leases the old Voortrekkers site from the Municipality as its playing fields. That history also records that a 1995 request by the school to purchase the property was refused.
Leasing municipal land is governed by the Municipal Finance Management Act (2003) and the Municipal Asset Transfer Regulations (2008), together with the City's Immovable Property Policy. The regulations were issued in 2008 under section 168 of the MFMA. The City's by-law says that, unless permitted or prescribed otherwise, the Council shall not alienate or let municipal immovable property below market value. The City's guidance says that the sale or lease of City-owned immovable property must follow a competitive process for "viable" land. Land used for social purposes counts as viable land. Non-viable land follows a different track. The 2010 policy also recognises that some transfers or leases need not be at market value. In those cases the Council must consider the public interest and community benefit.
Before a lease is approved, the City advertises it for public comment. Immovable property notices are published every Friday, and residents can comment, object or submit alternative proposals. Under the older by-law, if comments are lodged, the council must consider every comment before deciding. This matters because below-market leases of public land to private bodies raise questions about value for money, equitable access to public assets and the integrity of the participation process.
