Residents came out in their numbers on Tuesday evening at a public meeting to discuss the Heritage Protection Overlay Zone (HPOZ) in Bo Kaap. Vice chairperson of the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association Fouzia Achmat said she is amazed at how the community understood the HPOZ.

“The meeting went really well, and we had a lot of support from the community. It is amazing how our community understood the HPOZ,” she said.

Achmat said although the process poses many challenges, the community should pull together to ensure the protection of the area.

“A resolution was taken in terms of the HPOZ. Yes, we understand it’s from the community and we understand that there will be challenges but we need it to be implemented so that we can protect whatever we still have left,” she added.

Achmat said the resolution mostly addressed the uniqueness of the area and importance of living heritage.

“We have established that the community wants to play an active role in the process. We also concluded that a reservation plan should be added to the HPOZ. Residents also spoke about the land resolution. We must not forget that not so long ago we were affected by forced removals, so we need land restitution,” she stated.

She said that they will also be looking into a special heritage discount instead of paying normal rates.

According to Achmat, Bo Kaap residents proved that the community is aware of how the HPOZ is going to affect them and what role the community can play during the process.

The public participation process for the proposed HPOZ which is in its fifth week will come to an end on the 22 February 2019 when all submissions and comments should be submitted.

If you agree that Bo-Kaap should receive heritage protection , then you are urged to add your name to the petition. To find out more visit Http://www.bridgesnotbarriers.co.za/bokaap- or

Http://www.bridgesnotbarriers.co.za/take-action-hpoz.