City blueprints for greater densification in parts of the so

• Author: janice matthews janice.matthews@acm.co.za
• Published date: 19 August 2022
• Publication title: Sentinel News

More than 100 residents attended the meeting at the Alphen Centre on Wednesday August 2. They examined the City’s planning strategy for the Sub-council 20 area, which includes Constantia, Wynberg, Westlake, Plumstead, Kirstenhof and Hout Bay

Those who spoke to the Bulletin, the Sentinel’s sister paper, voiced concerns about the plans with some saying they favoured developers at the expense of ratepayers and that the push for densification failed to account for ageing water pipes and other creaky infrastructure.

The City’s draft integrated district spatial development frameworks (DSDFs) and environmental management frameworks (EMFs) are out for public comment. They describe the City’s long-term planning strategy for eight districts: Table Bay; Blaauwberg; Southern; Northern; Cape Flats; Helderberg; Tygerberg; Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha; and Greater Blue Downs.

The DSDF and EMF specify the development requirements, at a district level, of the Municipal Spatial Development Framework (MSDF), which once adopted, will inform long-term spatial planning and urban development at a city-wide level.

Essentially, these planning policies will inform and guide the City’s decisions when assessing development and land use applications, determining what our suburbs and the metropole will look and feel like in future.

In its vision and spatial strategy, the City says it has committed “to addressing spatial injustice, inequality and avoiding the creation of structural imbalances; to plan for inclusive economic growth and improve access to economic opportunities; manage urban growth, creating a balance between urban development and environmental protection”.

The City argues that Cape Town needs to respond to rapid urbanisation by focusing on inward growth and supporting dense, diverse and transport-orientated land use.

This approach allows for higher densities in the most accessible location along the major public transport routes and interchanges and close to economic opportunities as a first priority.

In the Southern district, according to City plans, Wynberg and Claremont, and the Main Road development route between them to the north and to the south are ripe for intensified development.

Wynberg resident Jeffrey Heath said he grasped the need for densification but feared the municipal infrastructure was not up to the task. “The basic services of the city are failing. They are a hundred years old, cast-iron water pipes. We have had three water pipe bursts in recent...