Bellville’s future on the cards
28 April 2022
Residents, businesses, stakeholders and interested parties will have the opportunity to comment on the City of Cape Town’s proposed local spatial development framework (LSDF) for the Bellville central business district as from 3 May until 3 July 2022. The LSDF provides guidance on detailed local planning and public infrastructure investment to unlock development opportunities and the urban regeneration of the Bellville CBD.
The draft LSDF includes a core precinct masterplan for the Bellville CBD with a proposed long-term spatial vision, interventions and investments to support the implementation of this vision, once approved by Council.
The Bellville Future City Masterplan of 2021 and heritage studies informed the draft LSDF in terms of place making, tourism opportunities, and opportunities to celebrate the diverse heritage of the area; it also proposes various road schemes and public transport upgrades.
Detailed implementation plans identifying projects to be undertaken by the City, public partners and the private sector to spatially transform the Bellville CBD into a more sustainable and thriving centre, form part of the draft LSDF.
Bellville has a large urban core with various smaller centres and employment areas. Much of the deprivation is concentrated south of Voortrekker Road with Bellville South, Belhar, and Ravensmead suffering from blight and deprivation.
‘The draft LSDF proposes significant investment from both the public and private sector in roads, utilities, affordable housing and innovation to support urban renewal in the longer term. The City’s Catalytic Land Development Programme focuses on Bellville’s urban core as a catalytic precinct to promote inclusive growth and development through the digital economy, knowledge-based businesses, and so forth. However, the immediate focus is on interventions to stabilise the area in terms of crime and grime, and deprivation. I encourage all who has an interest in the future of Bellville to please peruse the draft LSDF once it is available, and to comment on what the City is proposing for this area,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
Bellville’s unique location as Cape Town’s second metropolitan node should be used to stimulate investment in sectors that can create jobs, drive inclusive growth and resilience.
The implementation plan supports job creation, infrastructure investment and affordable housing provision. These include coordinating efforts and actions from public stakeholders such as the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Transnet, and tertiary education institutions, and to align these with actions from City partners such as the Greater Tygerberg Partnership.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth Alderman James Vos said this is a welcome opportunity to establish the road map to transforming the local economy of Bellville, to improve livelihoods and quality of life over the next decade and beyond. It provides a clear spatial vision to guide future public and private investment, and policy certainty to communities, landowners, investors and developers.
‘The Economic Growth Directorate’s mandate is to continue to position Cape Town as a forward looking globally competitive investment destination and to ensure that a conducive environment is created to foster inclusive economic growth. This is achieved through various programmes and partnerships with other City departments, government entities and the private sector aimed at addressing constraints to economic growth and job creation,’ said Alderman Vos.
The following opportunities arise from the draft LSDF:
To improve movement and mobility between the metro-south east and the northern districts as an important employment area, particularly within the Voortrekker Road Corridor
To apply the principles of transit-oriented development to create urban spaces with a mix of high density residentially-led development, commercial, retail, and recreational spaces
To create a safe and convenient precinct that facilitates and encourages walking and other forms of non-motorised transport, together with a master basement to accommodate parking in the CBD underground
Improved public transport services and facilities
Implementation of a new vertically integrated multi-modal Bellville Public Transport Interchange as a catalytic project, phased over time to unlock urban renewal
Implementation of quality social amenities
The release of vacant City owned land for mixed use development, including establishment of a ‘government precinct’, accommodating a mix of public uses, facilities and services
The overarching vision for Bellville is thus to create a CBD that is vibrant, attractive, sustainable and efficient in terms of development and transport.
The draft LSDF promotes six objectives:
Place economic growth at the heart of Bellville – it must be an attractive location for international, national and local investors
Restore the urban core as a prime business, innovation and visitor destination with the potential to become the Government Precinct for professional, financial and business services
Create an environment that allows businesses to flourish and create jobs
Stimulate development through investment in sustainable and green next-generation infrastructure; the expansion of fast broadband and digital infrastructure is critical as a basis for promoting an innovation district among the cluster of higher education institutions in the area
Maximise delivery of affordable housing in support of economic growth by encouraging more economically active households to live and work in Bellville; and
Drive economic growth by promoting a diverse business base and redressing imbalances in the labour market as a flexible and highly skilled workforce attracts and retains businesses
The broader road network needs investment to promote efficient movement, non-motorised transport expanded for easy access to a walkable precinct, and the Elsieskraal River Corridor enhanced as the green lung for Bellville with recreational facilities and active green spaces.
Once the public participation process has been concluded, the draft LSDF will be revised to include the comments received from all local stakeholder groups and residents. After Council approval, the LSDF will become City policy and guide land use and development in the Bellville CBD, in conjunction with the Tygerberg District Spatial Development Framework and Municipal Spatial Development Framework.
The draft LSDF will be available to the public for comment as from 3 May 2022.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
