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Building solutions to drive recovery The City of Cape Town sees the construction industry as pivotal to economic growth and has therefore focused on playing an enabling role in this period of economic recovery.
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ovid-19 has had and is continuing to have a devastating impact on Cape Town’s local economy. As with all of South Africa, and much of the world, the road to recovery will be an uphill one. The construction sector is critical to this recovery, as it creates direct and indirect job opportunities, and fuels the demand for goods and services associated with this industry. The City of Cape Town’s Development Management Department has implemented various solutions to ensure business continues normally as far as possible during the Covid-19 lockdown period. All has been set up to ensure that building plans and development applications can be submitted by the public, and to keep the turnaround time for assessments to about 30 working days for building plans, and 90 days for land use applications, pending statutory and other requirements in terms of the Municipal Planning By-law.
Building plan approvals The City has approved building plans to the value of more than R19.3 billion since 27 March 2020 to 3 June 2021. A very promising trend is the number of building plans that the private sector has submitted for building work in the Khayelitsha planning district during this period. These were either submitted by residents or by private companies, indicating a lot of building activity is already ongoing, or imminent for the area – all of which is funded by the private sector:
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(DMS) or zoning scheme, which determines the land use for every site or land parcel that falls within the City of Cape Town’s municipal boundaries; and the National Building Regulations.
Managing construction and land use • The City has approved a total number of 3 405 building plans of which 1 282 are residential in nature, and 1 020 for additions and alterations to existing buildings. • This indicates a significant investment in properties in Khayelitsha. The estimated value of the building work in this area alone is R1.8 billion, and one can assume that many local businesses and residents stand to benefit from the work that will flow from the approved building plans once construction commences.
Department stats Overall statistics from the City’s Development Management Department for the period 27 March 2020 to 3 June 2021: • The Department approved 20 380 building plans with an estimated value of R19.3 billion. • The majority of these building plans are residential in nature (4 107), and for additions and alterations to existing buildings (10 527). • The Department finalised 6 868 land use applications. The City must find a balance between urbanising Cape Town and meeting the demand for well-located housing, while at the same time protecting the unique qualities and natural environment that make Cape Town such a sought-after destination. It is important to mention that the City is compelled to assess all development and building plan applications in terms of: the Municipal Planning By-law; the City’s Development Management Scheme
As such, the City’s Development Management Department controls and regulates the construction of new buildings and developments; the alteration, extension, or conversion of
