Cape Town: The Spatial Planning and Environment Directorate of the City of Cape Town hosted its second Property Developer’s Forum on November 11, 2024. It is a key engagement on the Calendar as it is a great opportunity to identify and address the challenges that are faced by the property development sector in the city.
The Property Development Forum is an initiative by the City of Cape Town. The programmes and strategies were leveraged to expedite the development applications by building plan approvals and to foster a business-friendly environment at the municipal level, which is conducive to property development.
This is relatively a new platform that was launched with the first meeting in June 2024 and is designed specifically for property developers to engage directly with the city and for true collaboration to be fostered.
Considering this, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment and the Deputy Mayor of the City of Cape Town – Alderman Eddie Andrews said that they are committed to work with the private sector to fix what is necessary and to create a stimulating and prosperous Cape Town for all its people.
Andrews emphasized that the forum focused mainly on addressing and resolving critical challenges that impede property development. They together hope to identify the main issues and collaboratively devise the solutions to overcome those situations.
Notably, the second iteration of the event included updates, mainly on the Development Approval Management System (DAMS) by the Development Management Department. It also updated on the Development Management Optimisation Programme (DMOP).
Moreover, the forum featured a panel which was moderated by Deputy Mayor – Alderman Eddie Andrews and comprised of the Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Executive Director for SP&E – Robert Mcgaffin and Geraldine Liebenberg.
The panel offered the property developers a direct platform to engage and allow them to raise technical questions, which are process-related concerns and other specific issues that need to be addressed.
Alderman Andrews stated further while being on the panel that by understanding their challenges, they can address the gaps and ensure a more inclusive, collaborative approach also, to unlock economic development in the City of Cape Town.