In 2006, the NMTT built 191 houses for the so-called ‘coloured’ community of Netreg. This community had been struggling for almost twenty years to get housing. The 3.6-hectare site was identified for housing in the 1980s, but delays and lack of interest from commercial developers meant the Netreg community were unable to achieve their dream of a proper housing.

In 2005, Niall Mellon met with the community at Netreg and promised to help them realize their dream. Netreg is the second township where the NMTT has built houses in Cape Town. It was also the first green-fields site that the charity has built on.

The vast majority of the beneficiaries in Netreg are back-yard shack dwellers. This means that they rented a space in the back yard of someone’s home and lived in a small shack there. Many of the Netreg beneficiaries have lived in back-yard shacks for decades. More than half of the beneficiaries of this housing project are women, who are providing for their children on their own.

The government-devised People's Housing Process (PHP) is the method of delivery used in this township. PHP sees the community, the developer and the City of Cape Town take responsibility in partnership for the construction of the houses. It is a participatory approach to housing delivery, which the NMTT endorses wholeheartedly. The NMTT also donated a jungle gym to the local primary school in Netreg and improved facilities of a local church.

Netreg is close to the airport and just off the N2 highway in Cape Town. The NMTT built mainly semi-detached 42 square meter homes in this area. As it was a green-fields site, the housing project is both distinctive and attractive with the signature red tiled roof and candy-coloured homes. The people of Netreg are rightfully proud of their new community, made possible through the help of the Niall Mellon Township Trust.