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The revised Heritage Resources Management Strategy applies to the management of heritage resources that fall within the City’s regulatory mandate, and also addresses the City’s responsibility to manage heritage places and areas across Cape Town for the benefit of the public, and present and future citizens. The draft strategy aims to align conservation efforts with sustainable development goals, improve efficiency and reduce red tape. The closing date for comments is 17 September 2026. 

Apart from strengthening good governance and compliance, the strategy aims to ensure that Cape Town’s heritage resources are protected, well-managed and conserved for future generations.

It seeks to optimise economic opportunities, improve access and promote social well-being, while reducing unnecessary red tape and supporting appropriate development.

‘There are many sites across Cape Town that are of great heritage significance: from the shell midden at Hendon Park in Gordon’s Bay and the Castle of Good Hope built in 1666 to 1679, to Rocklands Community Hall, an important living heritage site related to the Struggle history. These sites and buildings are as diverse as our residents, and tell the story of our shared history over hundreds of years: these resources give us a sense of belonging and pride. The draft strategy intends to conserve and preserve our heritage assets, while promoting sustainable development. We must remember that heritage provides a wide range of economic opportunities to surrounding communities, and to the tourism and hospitality industries. 

‘The strategy will also guide how the City manages and maintains the over 500 heritage assets under our custodianship to the benefit of our residents and future generations,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

How to comment:

• The draft strategy is available at City libraries, Subcouncil offices
• The closing date for comments is 17 September 2026
• Send an email: Heritage@capetown.gov.za
• Submit comments online: www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay or www.capetown.gov.za/collaborate
• Written submissions: Subcouncil offices and City libraries

The City is also hosting an online information session from 18:30 to 20:30 on Thursday, 27 August 2026. Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/340450269415346?p=qOzzfqrSI7cTezuRHI

‘Heritage is not only about the past, but can also contribute to building social cohesion and local economies. I encourage residents, public institutions and heritage authorities, as well as researchers and heritage organisations, developers and property owners, and the professionals in the built environment to contribute to this process. Please submit your comments and help shape our draft strategy,’ said Alderman Andrews.

The draft strategy’s outcomes:

• Protecting heritage resources – direct City resources to manage and preserve sites and precincts of recognised heritage value; ensure optimal use, management and accessibility of City-owned heritage resources, digitise heritage materials and application processes
• Leveraging heritage for economic growth – leverage heritage assets to enrich Cape Town’s living environment, create jobs, and promote community integration; integrate heritage management into spatial planning and land-use frameworks to improve efficiency and enable socio-economic development around heritage sites
• Ease of doing business – streamline heritage processes by removing application requirements for areas that have minimal or no heritage significance; secure exemptions from Heritage Western Cape under the 60 year clause and Section 38 impact assessments where appropriate
• Recognise and celebrate previously overlooked tangible and intangible heritage and acknowledge the legacy of forced removals in a meaningful way
• Advocacy – harness resources to foster social cohesion and drive socio-economic development and use cultural heritage as a platform for education, community integration, and social cohesion

Strategic shifts

• Moving away from general protections to implementing a process to proactively identify and map significant heritage resources worthy of conservation
• Streamlining application processes to enable heritage management at a local level for more efficient, predictable, and cost-effective applications and decisions
• Integrate heritage management with spatial planning and development management processes for improved alignment between conservation, growth management, infrastructure investment and quality-built environments and public realms
• Protecting not only individual buildings, but also historical urban landscapes and areas
• Creating accessible and up-to-date heritage information management systems
• Unlocking the unrealised potential of heritage to contribute to social justice through adaptive re-use and economic benefits

Once approved, the strategy will guide the City’s implementation of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) and the management of heritage under the City’s Municipal Planning By-law. It will set the standards for good governance and enable ease of doing business, while ensuring the City implements its mandate in terms of the NHRA.

Issued by the City of Cape town