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LOCALS have been afforded time until the end of October to submit suggestions to the City of Cape Town on how they want their neighbourhoods to be developed in future.

The call for the public to input their concerns and objectives regarding the design framework of their living environments comes prior to the city's campaign to devise an overall design framework for its eight districts.

Some of the city's neighbourhoods, particularly those considered urban conservation areas such as Woodstock, Salt River and Observatory, are rich in cultural heritage.

Development planning could prove to be especially complex as a result of the tendency to want to preserve the area?s unique character.

For this reason residents of Upper Woodstock in particular have been hard at work within recent months, sourcing public comment to submit their proposal to the city's town planning department. Thereafter a complete summary will be submitted to the Planning and Environment Portfolio Committee (Pepco) and later approved and ratified by full council and other provincial structures.

Ward councillor for the area, Cedric Thomas, however, highlighted that this traditionally lengthy process would be interrupted by a series of public participatory sessions so that residents rightfully have a say about how their living environments should grow and develop over the years. Thomas added that while time might have run out for comment at this stage, residents would still be awarded an opportunity to offer their comment to council at a later stage.

While Observatory residents are also in the process of devising their own suggestions, Thomas said residents of Salt River, which also falls within ward 57, were not particularly participatory in this regard.

"I have met with a consultant at a local non-government organisation (NGO) who will help in submitting suggestions for this area," he said, but further encouraged residents in all these areas to become involved in deciding on the future of their neighbourhoods.

But as the fastest developing neighbourhood within the ward, Thomas said Upper Woodstock residents remained most keen to voice their opinions to develop council's policy.

This rapid growth in the area has also given rise to many avid property renovators who do not adhere to council's building requirements.

"People are not adhering to the rules; they build without plans ? some even build before their plans are approved by council," he said.

The Upper Woodstock Residents' Association (UWRA) and its subsidiary aesthetics committee have been at the forefront of dealing with such issues, explains chairperson Teun Baartman.

Upper Woodstock residents who have thus far contributed to the suggestions for the policy have highlighted a number of historic buildings in the area, including a move to retain the old Victorian style architecture and the maintenance of public open spaces in the area. "While it is important that the Woodstock area is developed, many of the buildings have been built over 100 years ago. This is the kind of thing that defines Woodstock and gives it character," Baartman said.

"If you drive through the area, you'd see that many of these houses' architectural value has already been destroyed. This is something we want to avoid," he said.

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