Table Bay District Draft Baseline and Analysis Report 2019 State of the Built Environment
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STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Table Bay District Draft Baseline and Analysis Report 2019 State of the Built Environment DRAFT Version 1.1 8 November 2019 Page 1 of 65 STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT CONTENTS A. STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................. 4 1 LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS ............................................................................. 5 Residential...................................................................................................................... 5 Tourism, Recreation and Conventions....................................................................... 6 Industrial ......................................................................................................................... 7 Retail and Office ........................................................................................................... 8 Mixed Use ....................................................................................................................... 8 Public Spaces ............................................................................................................... 9 Land Use Application Trends ..................................................................................... 10 Key Challenges and Opportunities .......................................................................... 16 Vacant Land ............................................................................................................... 16 2 TRANSPORT AND ACCESSIBILTY ........................................................................................ 19 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 19 Strategic Parameters & Informants .......................................................................... 19 State of Public Transport ............................................................................................ 20 State of Road Infrastructure ...................................................................................... 25 State of Freight ............................................................................................................ 27 Travel Patterns ............................................................................................................. 29 Key Transport Challenges and Opportunities ......................................................... 32 3 INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................................................................. 34 Electricity ...................................................................................................................... 34 Water ............................................................................................................................ 34 Sanitation (Waste Water and Solid Waste) ............................................................. 35 Stormwater ................................................................................................................. 37 Key Opportunities and Constraints .......................................................................... 37 4 HUMAN SETTLEMENTS ......................................................................................................... 40 Housing Overview ....................................................................................................... 41 Demand for State Subsidised Housing ..................................................................... 44 Housing Supply ....................................................................................................................... 47 Figure.. : City’s Human Settlements delivery data, 2013/14 – 2017/18 .......................... 47 Key Opportunities and Constraints ......................................................................... 48 5 PUBLIC FACILITIES ................................................................................................................ 51 State of Supply and Demand .................................................................................. 51 Page 2 of 65 STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Key Observations ........................................................................................................ 65 Page 3 of 65 STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT A. STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Page 4 of 65 STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 1 LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS The Table Bay area is home to Cape Towns earliest settlemetns and has a range of desirable location attributes that have kept it a continuous focus of investment into the present. The attractiveness of the area for development can be attributed to: A higher concentration of industrial, commercial and retail economic activity in the District; location near the port; dramatic topography and connection to Mountain and sea; well managed public environment and sustained investments in public space; High concentration of residential areas with scenic qualities landmark private investments; and major tourism investments, a thriving tourism sector and complimentary creative sector While the Table Bay area has seen a high degree of change in land values and the character and amenity value of areas. The private sector has gained from improved opportunities for development and a thriving market, this has resulted in a challenge for creating affordable housing opportunities in the area. The CBD has seen positive changes at street level due to improvements in the public environment. The skyline has also changed as a number of significant building developments have been completed- the Portside building become the new highest building in 2013,and is soon to be eclipsed by 16 on Bree Street and Harbour Arch set to be developed over the next ten years. There is a steady stream of development proposals for even higher buildings and rezoning applications focus on increasing the allowable bulk on sites. Public sector opportunities for transformation in the District are around the Two Rivers Urban Park, the Athlone Power Station and smaller pockets of state owned land across the District. The pace of development has put pressure on aging infrastructure in the District, with sanitation infrastructure most affected. Residential The District reflects a range of residential neighbourhoods of varying character and residential densities. The highest population density is in Langa followed by portions of Maitland and Observatory. Noticeably high densities are evident in Sea Point and Green Point. The form of the urban fabric has been greatly influenced by the natural context, with a band of intense development around the Atlantic Seaboard as a result of topographical constraints and desirable sea and mountain views. From Woodstock & Salt River to Page 5 of 65 STATE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Observatory and the areas of Oranjezicht and Higgovale are characterized by a slightly lower density residential pattern. Predominantly single residential land uses also feature in the established Garden City suburb of Pinelands. The congestion travelling into the CBD and accessibility to jobs has led to an increased demand for residential properties in the CBD and the surrounding areas of Woodstock, Salt River and Observatory, and this demand is beginning to spill over into the North Eastern suburbs. The need for student housing for UCT has driven increasing densities in Observatory in particular. The area from the CBD to Observatory has experienced a surge of development in the past 10 years. With both apartment buildings and mixed use residential buildings contributing to increased densities in De Waterkant, Green Point, Woodstock, Salt River and Observatory. Congestion also contributes to transit oriented development and the increased desirability of residential properties in proximity to efficient public transport. My-city routes in particular have had an impact on applications alongside and also impacted the need for urban design suitable for greater pedestrian movements stimulated by the uptake of public transport. Development in the CBD to Observatory introduces a trend towards apartment living in smaller units, in some cases micro-units are being developed from the skeletons of older office buildings. Many of these properties are being purchased by investors rather than owner occupiers and are targeting an exclusive rental market including the tourist and Airbnb market. In the Observatory and Salt River areas, the University of Cape Town maintains a steady demand for smaller rental units, consequently impacting on the density of the area through the development of new apartments such as the Paragon and the Eden developments. Large areas of this district experience international demand which subsequently reflects in land and property values and has triggered further developments in the Waterfront and De Waterkant areas. An increase in the tran sitory tourist population has led to an increase in rent and a scarcity of affordable rental properties for the local market. There has been little to no investment in affordable housing in most of the District and increase in land values has triggered concerns about the area excluding the local and historic populations. Protest against this trend is represented through retaliation from affordable housing advocates who have occupied strategic pockets of state owned land in the District. Second Dwellings and sub-divisions The upward residential