Durban's inner city to be 'restored to former glory'

10 September 2015 - 02:10 By Nompumelelo Magwaza

Durban is cleaning up its act. Inner City Local Area Plan officials announced yesterday the city is headed for a major upgrade, which will see the reclamation of abandoned buildings and urban spaces in areas such as Albert Park, the CBD and Victoria Embankment.Musa Mbhele, acting deputy city manager for economic development and planning, said the plan would help restore Durban to its former glory and attract businesses and economic growth back to the city."The purpose of the regeneration programme is to reclaim abandoned buildings and urban spaces, attract new innovative investment and ideas, social housing and the connectivity and integration of different modes of transport."Durban is grappling with challenges of crime, building invasion and the migration of business . Mbhele added that other challenges were traffic congestion, informal trading and lack of road safety for pedestrians.Areas that will receive attention include the Point, Albert Park, Warwick Junction, Greyville, Victoria Embankment, the beachfront, greater Kings Park, Umngeni Corridor and the CBD."The focus of the regeneration strategy is conducting a situational analysis, based on the existing work, redefining the role of the CBD in relation to the port interface, urban growth and regeneration, as well as developing a vision with broad strategic policies," said Mbhele.In June, the eThekwini Municipality adopted the Problem Building by-law, which will deal with the invasion and abandonment of buildings in areas surrounding the city. The strategy will be rolled out in phases."The first phase will include producing an inception report, taking into account stakeholder mapping, the budget, the programme and appointing a consultation team," according to Mbhele.The second phase will involve a local area plan and high-level precinct plans. Warwick, Centrum site and the Point will be prioritised.Fawzia Peer, chairman of the finance and procurement committee, said it was important to improve the inner city."The state of the inner city says what the city is about. It is most vital that we address this, especially by reclaiming derelict and abandoned buildings."The CBD's oldest shopping mall, The Workshop, will get its first ever upgrade since it opened in 1986. The owners of The Workshop, Vukile Property Fund, will inject R75-million into upgrading the centre's food court."The Workshop has always enjoyed an excellent location that is convenient to many shoppers. Soon it will benefit even more as the city of Durban rolls out its renewal plans for the node and adds new transport connections," said Laurence Rapp, chief executive at Vukile Property Fund.The area around The Workshop has also been earmarked for future development, including the new city library...

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