Cape Town: Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has confirmed the Municipal Planning Tribunal’s (MPT) decision to approve a proposed six-storey hotel development at 150 Buitengracht Street, a vacant lot on the interface between the heritage-rich Bo-Kaap and Cape Town CBD.
In Mayor’s capacity as appeals authority agreed with the MPT’s finding the smaller, revised hotel design was the result of extensive community input via a six-month engagement facilitated by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and could proceed.
According to the Mayor Lewis appeal outcome report, the appeal concerns an application near to a Masjid that is of profound heritage significance to all of Cape Town. For that reason, the matter has been treated with great care and has followed an exhaustive engagement process. Other development proposals have gone through extensive community consultation, and redesign.
The engagement process included a remarkable community facilitation convened by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). That facilitation resulted in a consensus that the building should be smaller, lower, and that intrusive overlooking features will be removed, along with several other mitigating design changes and all those changes which were made earlier.
Moreover, the proposed building began its journey as nine storeys, but will now be six storeys, with a front facade of three storeys onto Buitengracht St. This is much smaller than several nearby hotels.
He further added that the concerted and meaningful effort to accommodate residents’ concerns has resulted in context-sensitive development that both protects heritage and promotes sustainable development. For Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis MPT’s decision has been confirmed.
The vacant lot is located along a 70-metre strip of Buitengracht Street which is predominantly residential, with four existing non-residential developments of three- to five-storeys used as businesses or offices. Several nearby properties have exceptional heritage significance, including the Auwal Masjid at 34 Dorp Street, which is the oldest mosque and madrassah in South Africa, that was established back in 1794.
The SAHRA-facilitated consultations led to a revised hotel design, which was accepted by stakeholders and interested parties, including the Bo-Kaap Residents Association and other appellants. Facilitations were conducted from December 2022 to May 2023 by a SAHRA team, including heritage architects, heritage practitioners, historians, anthropologists, legal experts, and built environment experts.
A written memorandum of agreement (MOA) will ensure that the development will not, at any time, object to or complain about any of the activities of the Auwal Masjid. It was further noted that no reports of disharmony had resulted from three hotels already within 100m of the Masjid, two of which are much larger than what is proposed on the site.
Mayor Hill-Lewis further noted that the revitalization of the vacant lot will benefits to residents, many ways including improved safety, job creation, and economic benefits of tourism for local businesses.
A decision on parking was not part of the appeal due to the site falling within a ‘Public Transport 2’ area, which does not require dedicated parking. The MPT has previously noted that hotel guests are more likely to use various public transport options and that on-street parking demand generally recedes in the evenings on this stretch of Buitenkant once workers leave offices in the area.
Notably, the site is zoned for mixed-use development (MU3), which permits a hotel without requiring rezoning or departures under the Municipal Planning By-Law. While the proposed development is well below zoning limits, MPT approval was required because the site is within the Bo-Kaap Heritage Protection Overlay Zone (HPOZ), and for a canopy over a public street.
The MPT also granted these approvals with conditions in July 2024. However, the appeals were heard in January 2025 by the Planning Appeals Advisory Panel (PAAP), which recommended that the Mayor confirm the MPT decision.