Today Executive Mayor – Patricia de Lille, City of Cape Town visited Dunoon where the City of Cape Town is hosting a two-day expo informing the community of exciting planned developments in their area. Mayoral Committee Member for the Transport and Urban Development, Cllr Brett Herron, and I looked at the exhibitions detailing the City’s plans to build a new public transport hub and future housing developments for Dunoon.
The current, often muddy, minibus-taxi rank will be replaced with a new public transport facility that consists of covered walkways for commuters and buildings for shops, offices and ablution facilities.
On weekdays nearly 8 000 commuters make use of the rank to commute to various destinations including Bellville, Nyanga, Centre Point and Witsand.
The City will start upgrading the minibus-taxi rank within the next two months and it will be fully operational during the next two years. Over R42 million will be spent on the upgrade.
This investment shows our commitment to uplifting communities by providing quality infrastructure and bringing excellence in service delivery which is in alignment with our Organisational Development and Transformation Plan.
Plans for the proposed future housing development are also on show at the Dunoon community hall.
‘The City is committed to creating a more efficient and inclusive city. To achieve this, we must build houses on well-located land where residents will have easy access to public transport, and jobs. Where people live matters, and this is why the City bought the land opposite from Dunoon to create a new neighbourhood that can live up to these ideals,’ said the Councillor Brett Herron.
In the City’s efforts to develop affordable housing on well-located land that is close to public transport, jobs, government services, and public amenities, the City recently abandoned an older plan for the extension of Wolwerivier. We have instead redirected the funding for that project to Annandale, a newly acquired 71-hectare property next to Dunoon.
We expect several thousand housing opportunities to be yielded from this large site. The development will also include social facilities and areas for commercial development to stimulate economic opportunities.
The City’s new vision for the neighbourhood will assist Dunoon to become an even more friendly and integrated community with well-developed infrastructure. The newly acquired land, earmarked for development, is on the other side of the N7 highway across from Dunoon and north of Richwood.
At the same time, the City is working with the Western Cape Provincial Government on plans to upgrade the underpasses underneath the N7 so that there will be better, safer access for vehicles and pedestrians. In the medium term, the upgrading of these underpasses will help to alleviate traffic congestion over the existing main overpasses and ensure a more connected city.
New housing opportunities will include a range of community facilities and amenities. Part of the plan is to densify the neighbourhood with the construction of 3-storey housing opportunities and sites for retail and light industrial use. This will bring job opportunities closer to where people live and promote a more integrated Cape Town.
This week we unfortunately saw the destruction of community infrastructure in Dunoon and land was invaded. In the past few weeks I have met with a broad range of Dunoon residents and community leaders. I have asked residents to work with the City to help protect the land from invasions – especially where the City is planning to bring development.
By helping us to guard against illegal land invasions, the City can start to install bulk infrastructure for services such as water, sanitation, and electricity as well as the roads needed for the residential development.
This City is committed to working with residents of Dunoon to bring progress and integrated development to the neighbourhood. This is evident in the construction of the new R39 million library that will be completed this year.
Speaking to residents today, most are excited about the new developments coming to their neighbourhood. The City will continue to work with residents to improve everyone’s living conditions and build a more inclusive city.
The two-day expo will be open to the public on 14 and 15 June from 14:00 to 19:00. City officials will be on hand to answer residents’ questions about the planned developments.