The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) has been changing Bellville for the better over the past few years, the organisation says and will continue to do this to the best of its ability. In fact, their main stakeholder, the City of Cape Town, has so much trust in them they will be supporting an extension of their mandate over the next few years, says GTP CEO, Warren Hewitt. The GTPs comments come after social media users criticised one of the projects done by the GTP, a mosaic installed on the walkways of De Lange Street. This project aims to make the area safer and more attractive for road users (De Lange Street mosaic project completed by Greater Tygerberg Partnership, faces mixed reactions, 16 Jan).Bellville CBD is starting to look like an informal settlement,one user wrote, while another resident, Sean Parker, said there is no difference between this and the ANC changing street names to distract from the fact that very little is being done. The GTP, which has been active in Bellville for over a decade, has a broad scope, which focuses mainly on urban regeneration in the area.We connect multiple stakeholders seeking to maximise the assets of Bellville, for the greater good of all people who live, work and play there, their website states. PROJECTS Projects like the one in De Lange Street are critical to changing the perceptions of a place, says Hewitt, adding that the GTP supplements the work done by local government structures.This does not detract from the critical work undertaken by the municipality in Bellville. The restoration of Bellville is a multi-pronged process. Beautifying and promoting Bellville is only a part of what they do, Hewitt says.Although a lot of our work revolves around area promotion, place-making and stakeholder engagement, we have also worked on community and social development programmes such as the Zero Waste Schools programme diverting more than 120 tonnes of waste from landfill and educating over 4 000 learners on waste management,he says.We are also actively bringing public spaces to the forefront of renewal such as Elizabeth Park, Hardekraaltjie sports complex, and Tielman Marais Park. Their waste collection programmes have created 50 permanent jobs. We have erected a new public ablution facility in Kruskal Avenue with an innovative operating model. The City has agreed to install additional such facilities under the auspices of the GTP.BETTER BELLVILLE Another initiative implemented by the GTP is the better.bellville.together initiative, which was launched last February. This is promoted and supported by the City of Cape Town and is one of the ways in which they hope to promote the second node of Cape Town, as Bellville is often referred to. (The project) has seen nine tons of recyclable waste diverted from landfill as well as 52,8 tons of organic waste such as food scraps and garden material from local businesses and civic places. Resources have been recycled locally and used for compost at The Bellville Life Changing Garden, says the City of Cape Towns Mayco member James Vos. The City’s support of an extension of their mandate will bring renewed focus on economic revival, Hewitt says. All the departments in the municipality (will be) actively involved in bringing service delivery and safety to the area. The road featuring the mosaics, De Lange Street, has been identified as an alternative pedestrian route running parallel to Voortrekker Road.The GTP in conjunction with vested stakeholders are attempting to beautify and restore these walkways for our pedestrians,Hewitt explains.The included artworks were part of a public participation process where the public voted for floral mosaics. We firmly believe that this is the start of a restoration which all in Bellville will be proud of. We are also actively bringing public spaces to the forefront …`is – Warren Hewitt
