The City of Cape Town has launched an online resource portal for professionals in the built environment. The resource provides clarity and guidance on the requirements for submitting building plans to the City, and intends to keep professionals informed of the latest trends.
The City’s Development Management Department who is responsible for regulating development in Cape Town, created this online portal over the past few months. The portal, inclusive of regular newsletters, is free of charge, and available to professionals and built environment practitioners who subscribe for the service.
‘The newsletter provides guidance on all matters relating to preparing building plan applications, submitting applications, as well as guidance on how to complete the required forms and documents. All of this information is also available on the Build It Right resource portal,’ said Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment.
The Build It Right portal is designed to:
- respond to industry needs
- keep all informed of current trends, new regulations and requirements
- provide a reference library of searchable content
- be easy to access
- be easy to understand; and
- create a platform for ongoing dialogue between the Department and built professionals
‘We have done an analysis of the building plans that were submitted to the City in recent months to determine what type of information should be available on the resource portal. By taking a closer look, we have identified that some submissions were delayed either because vital information had been omitted, or because the application did not comply with the requirements of the National Building Regulations and Standards Act. Thus, the purpose of Build It Right is to make it clear to professionals what is needed when they submit building plans for approval, and to do so in a manner that is easy to understand. I think this is a great initiative from the City and that subscribers will gain a lot of value from it,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
The National Building Regulations (NBR) and Standards Act applies to the:
- construction of new buildings
- alteration, extension or conversion of existing buildings
- change of use of existing buildings; and
- demolition of existing buildings or structures
The portal already features a series interpreting the NBR, as well as a series on standard processes and requirements which is basically a checklist for preparing building plans for submission.
The Development Management Department will also use the portal from time to time to ask professionals for feedback by responding to questions or surveys. This will ensure that the content is responsive and relevant.
Those who are interested to subscribe to the portal and newsletter can send an email to BuilditRight@capetown.gov.za.
‘I’m encouraging professionals to subscribe and to please use this portal that has been created to assist the industry with building plan submissions. We will be adding new content every month and will also be sending out regular newsletters to subscribers,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.