Ward 2 Development Forum

Theewaterskloof Spatial Development Framework

Properties3
descriptionThe municipality's spatial plan, with a chapter for each town. It draws the urban edge, plans housing and heritage protection for Greyton and Genadendal, and records that the municipality may not invest on Farm 39 land it does not own. It guides decisions but grants no rights.
tagstheme/trancraa, theme/heritage, theme/environment, lang/en
aliasesSDF, Spatial Development Framework, TWK SDF, SDF 2020

6 min read

A working page, open for review

This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this plan, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the plan in plain language, and it does not give legal advice or speak for the Forum, the municipality, or any other body. The official text, linked under At a glance, is what counts. Before you act on anything here, read the official text or ask the body named under Who to ask. To correct or add to this page, see How to Submit.

Questions for reviewers:

  1. For Theewaterskloof Municipality’s planning department: on what date did the council adopt the SDF, and is a review under way?
  2. Does the SDF say anything about Madiba Park, or about the land between Greyton and Genadendal, beyond what is quoted here?
  3. For the Genadendal Transformasie Komitee: was the Komitee consulted on the Genadendal chapter?

The Theewaterskloof Spatial Development Framework (SDF) is the municipality’s plan for where growth, housing, business, farming, and conservation should go [IC]. It is a statutory policy document that guides decisions, and the municipality says it “does not grant land use rights, nor does it take land use rights away” [IC]. The current SDF was finalised in November 2019 and is known as SDF 2020 [IC]. It has a chapter for each town, including one for Greyton and one for Genadendal, Bereaville, and Voorstekraal [IC]. For the valley it matters because planning decisions must take it into account, and because its Genadendal chapter records the limit that land ownership places on municipal investment.

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

  • [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by the official text of the plan, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
  • [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from one party’s own documents or statements. It has not been checked against other sources.
  • [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

Sentences without a tag under What it means in the valley are the Forum’s reading of how the plan could apply here. They are not legal advice.

At a glance

Full nameTheewaterskloof Municipality Spatial Development Framework
CitationFinal, November 2019 (SDF 2020)
Made byTheewaterskloof Municipal Council, under SPLUMA, LUPA, and the Municipal Systems Act
Administered byTheewaterskloof Municipality, Town Planning
In force since2020; the date of council adoption is not yet confirmed [TBV]
Official textIntroduction; Chapter 11: Greyton; Chapter 12: Genadendal

What it does

  • It guides decisions, and grants nothing. Decisions on land use applications must take the SDF into account, but it confers no rights [IC].
  • It draws urban edges. Each town gets an edge beyond which urban development is not planned [IC]. Development outside it goes to the Province for comment under the Western Cape Land Use Planning Act [IC].
  • It covers every town. Part 2 has chapters on Caledon, Grabouw, Villiersdorp, Botrivier, Riviersonderend, Greyton, Genadendal (with Bereaville and Voorstekraal), and Tesselaarsdal [IC].

What it says about the valley

Greyton (Chapter 11) [IC]:

  • Tourism is Greyton’s main economic sector.
  • Development is to stay within the urban edge, and low-density housing is preferred to keep Greyton’s village character. About 9.5 hectares of new land is expected to be needed over ten years.
  • An urban conservation area covers the original town layout of 1854, and many buildings are named as worthy of a heritage register.
  • Heuwelkroon is planned as an area for business and for medium- to high-density housing, to integrate the town.
  • Boschmanskloof is described as spatially isolated, to be linked to Greyton by roads and public spaces, with two heritage precincts of Cape vernacular cottages.
  • The Greyton Nature Reserve is to be expanded through the formal statutory process, and ecological corridors along the Gobos and Bosjemanskloof rivers protected.
  • Madiba Park is not mentioned.

Genadendal, Bereaville, and Voorstekraal (Chapter 12) [IC]:

  • The chapter records that the transformation process under TRANCRAA “has not been resolved and is still in process”.
  • It states: “In terms of applicable municipal legislation, TWKM is not allowed to invest in infrastructure, where the Municipality is not the owner of the land.”
  • Little new land is needed; growth is planned through denser use of existing plots, in eight planning areas.
  • Five heritage precincts are identified in Genadendal, including the Moravian mission werf, and four each in Bereaville and Voorstekraal, with the aim to “maintain and conserve the cultural significance and historic sense of place”.
  • It proposes working with Greyton on tourism, light industry along the main roads, and a Farmer Production Support Unit.
  • It suggests extending the north-south environmental corridors between the settlements for conservation.

What it means in the valley

Two chapters for one valley. The SDF plans Greyton and Genadendal in separate chapters, as separate towns. The Forum’s approach treats the valley as one area [MS]. Both chapters propose tourism links between the two, which is the main point where the plan already looks at the valley as a whole.

The ownership limit. The Genadendal chapter’s statement that the municipality may not invest on land it does not own is the plan’s own explanation of why services and infrastructure on Farm 39 wait on the land transfer under TRANCRAA. It is a statement of the municipality’s position in an official document.

Heritage and conservation. The precincts and the conservation area identified in the SDF are proposals for protection. Binding protection comes through the Zoning Scheme By-law (an overlay zone) or the National Heritage Resources Act.

Using the SDF. A proposal that fits the SDF has an easier path through the planning system than one that does not. Ideas tabled at the Forum that need land can be checked against the relevant chapter before they are taken further.

Where it touches this site

Who to ask

  • Theewaterskloof Municipality, Town Planning.

What is still open

  • The date the council adopted the SDF, and whether a review has begun.
  • Whether the SDF’s heritage precincts and conservation area have been given binding protection.

Have your say

If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.

References

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