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THE Village Green in Observatory has been earmarked for redevelopment by the City of Cape Town.

Cedric Thomas, ward councillor for the area, says he hopes that residents will encou?rage plans to improve the state of the open field along Station Road ? and its immediate surroundings.

Officials from the city's Spatial Planning and Urban Design Department have already identified key sites for this project ? dubbed the "Quality Public Open Spaces Programme" (QPOSP) ? across the city.

The Village Green, formerly a candidate community viewing site for the 2010 World Cup, will now simply be upgraded by council.

The Green has been selected for this project due to its centrality in Observatory. It links a host of important buildings and facilities, such as the Observatory Community Centre, the Observatory library, and the train station.

The site also provides a venue for perfor?ming bands at ObzFest, the annual crowd-drawing event held in December.

Cedric Daniels, manager for the city's Spatial Planning and Urban Design Department, explains that 23 other public open spaces have also been identified for upgrading across the city.

According to a preliminary proposal document for the QPOSP, the project will comprise mainly of incorporating paving, additional trees, pedestrian lighting and street furnishings to the area within the next few months.

Although planning is still in the initial stages, with council awaiting word from officials regarding the viability of some design issues, Daniels says it is hoped all the sites will be completed by December 2009.

No project expenditure guidelines have yet been finalised in this preliminary stage of planning.

The public are invited to have their say regarding plans for development. Daniels says the focus of the project is to improve the state of public open spaces for enjoyment by residents.

"There is a period of public participation coming up now where people will have a say in what happens, but I should think that most people would be happy about this news," he says.

Bovain Macnab, chairperson of the Obser?vatory Civic Association (OCA), says the group will soon meet with council's design team to discuss the details of what the renovation will entail.

Currently, the fenced site is sometimes inhabited by vagrants. In addition to this, Macnab suggests cars that park on the lawn destroy the grass, a factor which contributes to the site appearing badly maintained.

With the management of the neighbouring Observatory Community Centre being shif?ted from council's hands to that of the residents in the form of an elected Facility Management Committee (FMC,) Macnab regards further development in Observatory as a good sign.

"Even if this project means just landscaping and adding a few trees and benches to the Village Green, we would still encourage it," Macnab says.

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