The V&A Waterfront’s Heritage Impact Assessment is now open for public comment, Cape {town} Etc reports.
As part of its R20 billion upgrade, the V&A Waterfront applied for rezoning to the City of Cape Town, as required by the National Heritage Resources Act.
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According to Donald Kau, head of communications for the V&A Waterfront, the Heritage Impact Assessment report explores the site’s heritage value and highlights several themes that have changed over time to reflect the Waterfront’s transformation from a functional harbour to a popular tourist destination.
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‘The V&A Waterfront includes rich and diverse heritage resources, which contribute significantly to how the V&A Waterfront is used, enjoyed and experienced by South Africans and visitors from abroad.’
‘The site’s heritage significance extends beyond individual structures to include the spaces around buildings, the relationship between buildings, the Waterfront’s public spaces as well as iconic views, vistas and landmarks.’
‘The Heritage Impact Assessment reflects on the V&A Waterfront’s evolution from a working harbour and place of forced labour and incarceration, in the mid-19th century, to a place of international trade and commerce, to its present role as a place of commercial business, hospitality and tourism.’
For additional context to the Waterfront’s rezoning application, Kau adds that a zoning agreement from 30 years ago gave Cape Town’s then-neglected docklands the ability to create 603 859 square metres of floor space.
This amount was later increased.
‘Today the Waterfront’s remaining development rights are mostly accounted for through approved plans, and limited opportunities remain for future development,’ Kau told IOL.
Since then, the site applied to rezone its property from ‘development zone’ (a unique zoning established for the Waterfront in March 1993) to ‘Mixed Use 3’ in terms of the City of Cape Town’s Development Management Scheme.
The rezoning would enable the V&A Waterfront to realise its vision for Granger Bay, as there is another phase that links the site to the Atlantic Ocean coastline.
About 66% of the 440 000 square metres of floor space is earmarked for the Granger Bay development area.
The vision is to establish the site as a residentially led, mixed-use development with significant public and cultural amenities, including re-establishing public access to the ocean edge.
The remaining 34% of floor space is proposed for another part of the Waterfront property. This includes the Canal District.
Other plans include an inner-city park with leisure and recreational facilities centred on remnants of the Amsterdam Battery.
Comments or objections can be submitted in writing to Ms. C Postlethwayt at [email protected] on or before 2 September.
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Picture: Nico Smit / Unsplash