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• Add urban amenities that foster a dynamic and memorable sense of place, e.g. public open space, street<br />

landscaping, wide pavements and street furniture.<br />

• Create an independent, business-oriented and self-financing entity to oversee the site’s development<br />

and a commercial improvement district that can focus on crime, grime and maintenance in the area.<br />

The Sleeper Site development forms a key component of the Buffalo City’s plans, as a catalytic project in both<br />

its Built Environment Performance Plan (BEPP) and Integrated Development Plan (BCMM, 2015a; 2015b).<br />

The municipality has allocated R1-billion over the next three years to the project, which is managed by the<br />

Directorate of Development Planning.<br />

The municipality’s BEPP 2015/16 (BCMM, 2015a) identifies a range of strengths and weaknesses.<br />

Strengths<br />

• Long-term attractiveness of centrally located<br />

CBDs, as private travel costs increase and the<br />

region’s population grows.<br />

• Planned expansion of the University of Fort<br />

Hare will require more student<br />

accommodation and teaching facilities.<br />

• Municipal ownership of the site allows the<br />

municipality to leverage private sector<br />

investment through (e.g.) long leases, subdivisions,<br />

rezoning etc.<br />

Weaknesses<br />

• Poor public sector governance and overall<br />

education system, which negatively affects<br />

investment attractiveness and confidence.<br />

• Lack of a business retention and expansion<br />

(BRE) programme, which could result in<br />

lowing existing investment.<br />

• No clear vision for the city’s CBD and no<br />

agreement to establish a city improvement<br />

district, coupled with strong decentralisation<br />

of businesses from the CBD.<br />

The BEPP also identifies various opportunities, including:<br />

• The municipality’s intention to build<br />

municipal offices and other<br />

government facilities on the site.<br />

• Possible application of the urban<br />

development zone (UDZ) tax incentive<br />

to future Sleeper Site development.<br />

• Enhanced retail interest in the area<br />

due to the planned increase in student<br />

numbers.<br />

• Potential partnerships for building<br />

social and gap housing.<br />

Stakeholders generally agree about the<br />

best uses of the site, i.e. that it should<br />

primarily be used for institutional purposes,<br />

with any commercial uses seen as ancillary<br />

or related to the primary uses. No<br />

stakeholders voiced a preference for the<br />

site to be wholly commercially developed<br />

Concept diagram: East London Central Business<br />

District Strategy<br />

Source: A Fish, BCMM<br />

316 State of South African Cities Report 2016

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