Residents invited to open day about spatial plan for Big Bay and surrounding areas
28 October 2025
The City of Cape Town invites the public to the Open Day about the community-driven draft Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) for the Big Bay area. Residents can attend the Open Day any time between 10:00 and 14:00 on Saturday, 1 November 2025, at the Bloubergstrand Hall. This is an ideal opportunity to learn more about what is being proposed in the draft LSDF, to interact with officials from the City’s Urban Planning and Design Department, and importantly, to submit comments.
The Big Bay area is located between the R27 route to the east and the Table View coastline to the west, bordered to the north by the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve, and to the south by Marine Circle and Blaauwberg Road.
It is well served by access routes and the MyCiTi bus service, and blessed with exceptional natural environmental assets, such as the scenic West Coast, a coastline attracting kite surfers around the world, iconic views of Table Mountain, and unique biodiversity with threatened Cape Flats Dune Strandveld and Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. The Blaauwbergstrand Village which originated as a fishing village in the 1800s, forms the historic heart of the area with heritage buildings such as Ons Huisie and Highclere Cottage.
An LSDF determines the development vision for an area on a local level. Once approved by Council, the City uses the LSDF for guidance when making decisions about development applications and land use in the area and public-led projects and investment. It is therefore important to make use of the opportunity to collaborate with the City in refining the draft LSDF for this area.
‘I want to encourage residents, stakeholders, and interested and affected parties to participate in this very important process, and to submit comments on the draft LSDF for Big Bay and surrounding areas. This initiative was driven by the local community and the document that is available for public participation has been vetted by the City and some substantial changes were made to ensure it complies with our policies and long-term spatial planning.
‘Given the interest in this draft LSDF the City has also decided to allow a commenting period of 60 days as we want as many residents as possible to participate. The more submissions we receive, the better. Apart from the Open Day, we will be hosting an online information session as well for those who prefer this platform,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
For more information, and to submit comments and proposals:
Visit the Big Bay Library
Visit the Subcouncil 1 office
The closing date for comments is 12 December 2025
The City is hosting an Open Day and online session as follows:
Process to date
In 2022 Subcouncil 1 supported the community-driven planning initiative to develop a draft LSDF for Big Bay and surrounding areas. This process enabled the local community to initiate and fund the spatial planning project and to also present the community’s views to decision makers.
The Blaauwberg Spatial Association initiated and steered the process to develop a draft LSDF for Big Bay and surrounding areas
The association appointed and paid for professional consultants to draft the LSDF
The draft was submitted to the City’s Urban Planning and Design Department in December 2024 for vetting and compliance with City policies
In partnership with community representatives, the document has been substantially revised
On 9 October 2025 the City commenced with the public participation process that is now under way. Residents and stakeholders have 60 days to submit their comments and proposals
All of the comments received during this statutory process will be assessed and considered as the draft LSDF for the area is refined
The contextual background contained in the draft LSDF provides a broad overview of the challenges, needs, constraints and opportunities. It also contains data about the current population and densities, land use patterns, income levels and distribution, employment, and property market.
Some considerations contained in the draft LSDF:
Opportunities
Excellent public transport links to the Cape Town CBD
Potential development corridor along the R27
The Blaauwberg Nature Reserve
Attractive destination for local and international visitors
Challenges
Lack of schools, public health facilities
Limited local employment opportunities within walking distance
Heavy reliance on road-based transport, leading to congestion and pollution
Low dwelling units and population densities
Uncertainty about the future of government owned Erf 1117 and the threat of land invasions
Vulnerability of services infrastructure, in particular for electricity and sanitation
Threat of climate change and sea level rise, and need for coastal protection
The draft LSDF proposes some considerations for Erf 1117, should development be pursued at some point; and also elaborates about the need for coastal protection; the extension of the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve to the south, and the creation of continuous biodiversity conservation corridors, among others.
Caption: Residents are encouraged to attend the Open day on Saturday, 1 November 2025, at the Bloubergstrand Hall; and to also diarise the online information session to be hosted on the evening of Thursday, 13 November 2025.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
