Loca Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning

In terms of Spatial Planning and Land Use Management:

The Development Planning Chief Directorate from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) provides extensive support to municipalities across the Western Cape to strengthen their spatial planning and land use management systems and to ensure readiness for different growth and urbanisation scenarios.

This is undertaken through several structured programmes and sub-programmes:

SPLUM Governance Assessment and Support Programme

Through the SPLUM Governance Assessment and Support Programme, the Department systematically assesses municipal performance against key spatial planning, land use management, and development governance indicators. The findings inform tailor-made municipal support interventions. These include targeted technical assistance, template development, and governance tools that strengthen decision-making and institutional capacity.

Capacity building is further reinforced through formalised engagement structures such as the Municipal Planning Heads Forum, the District Planning Forums, and SALGA Councillor Induction sessions. These platforms allow municipalities to share experiences, discuss challenges, and align planning practice with provincial and national frameworks.

Municipal Spatial Development Framework (MSDF) Support Programme

All municipalities are required to prepare Municipal Spatial Development Frameworks (MSDFs) in terms of the Municipal Systems Act and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA). The Department provides direct technical and advisory support to ensure that these SDFs:

• Anticipate and plan for both rapid and slow urban growth scenarios;
• Identify well-located land for human settlements and economic development; and
• Integrate spatial, environmental, and fiscal planning components.

It is worth noting that the Department has created and released a MSDF Support Toolkit, and provided awareness raising of this tool via the Municipal Planning Heads Forum.

SDFs are also strengthened by Environmental Management Frameworks (EMFs) and Urban Area Delineations, which assist municipalities in streamlining spatial and environmental planning, environmental approvals and enabling faster land release and development responses. Strategic exemptions have been introduced to accelerate human settlement and informal settlement upgrading projects within certain Municipal areas.

Capital Expenditure Framework (CEF) Support Programme

A critical component of the MSDF product and process is the Capital Expenditure Framework (CEF), which links a municipality’s spatial vision with its capital and operating budget. The Department’s CEF Support Programme, in collaboration with partners such as the DBSA, assists municipalities to:

• Develop spatially-aligned 10-year prioritised portfolio of capital investments that should be used to inform municipal budgets.
• Prioritise infrastructure projects that support spatial transformation; and
• Strengthen the link between Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Frameworks (MTREFs), and SDFs.

This enables municipalities to anticipate and respond to various growth trajectories through spatially coherent budgeting and capital investment.

Housing Market Studies and Inclusionary Housing

The Department, together with the Department of Infrastructure, is undertaking Housing Market Studies in support of the implementation of the Provincial Inclusionary Housing Policy Framework. These studies provide municipalities with a detailed understanding of local housing market dynamics, affordability thresholds, and viable inclusionary mechanisms for both public and private sector development. A Knowledge Transfer Workshop Series is being implemented to disseminate insights and tools emerging from these studies, ensuring that municipal officials and planners are equipped to integrate inclusionary housing principles into SDFs, Land Use Schemes, and Development Charges policies.

Regional Planning: The Greater Cape Town Regional Study

The Department is also collaborating with the City of Cape Town, Stellenbosch Municipality, and Drakenstein Municipality on the Greater Cape Town Regional Study, which explores bulk infrastructure capacity from a regional perspective,  limits to growth within the current infrastructure systems, and infrastructure  interdependencies between Municipalities. The area where the boundaries of these three Municipalities intersect along the N1is facing  increasing urban development pressures,  which in turn places pressure on environmental and agricultural systems. This regional study strengthens alignment between local and provincial planning, promotes coordinated growth management, and identifies areas for coherent infrastructure investment and land use integration across the functional urban region.

The 2014 PSDF and towards the WCSDF 2035

The Provincial Spatial Development Framework (PSDF) provides the overarching spatial logic and investment framework that enables the Western Cape to proactively plan for and manage rapid urbanisation. It establishes a shared spatial vision for the province, directing growth towards strategically located settlements and urban nodes that can accommodate higher densities, mixed-use development, and efficient public transport systems. By aligning provincial priorities with municipal SDFs, infrastructure planning, and sectoral investment frameworks, the PSDF ensures that urban expansion occurs in a sustainable, fiscally responsible, and spatially just manner. It identifies critical growth corridors, infrastructure backbones, and environmental constraints, providing municipalities with guidance on where and how to plan for future population and economic growth. In this way, the PSDF serves as both a coordinating mechanism and a risk mitigation tool that helps government anticipate and respond to the pressures of rapid urbanisation while reinforcing spatial resilience and equitable access to opportunities across the province.

In terms of Waste Management:

From a waste management planning perspective, rapid urbanisation increases total solid waste generation through increase and higher population density and increase and changing consumption patterns, consequently placing pressure on existing waste management services and infrastructure. Proper waste planning is needed to optimise waste management and to respond to population shifts and demographic trends. The Directorate: Waste Management is responsible for assessing and endorsing municipal integrated waste management plans (IWMPs) developed by local and district Municipalities and the Metro in terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008). IWMPs aim to identify waste management gaps and needs in each municipality and to guide sustainable waste management. Once submitted, the Department assesses the IWMPs, provides comments, and endorses the IWMP if they meet the relevant requirements. Amongst other aspects, IWMPs are assessed for alignment with Integrated Development Plan (IDPs), Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs), the provincial IWMP and the National Waste Management Strategy.

Municipalities are required to incorporate data on demographic trends, amount of incidents, urbanisation expansion, and information pertaining to anticipated waste volumes, landfill airspace capacity and lifespan, and the levels of waste service provision to formal and informal households, including backyarders. Municipalities must also include how they plan to expand services to unserviced households, specifically informal settlements and indigents accessing free basic waste collection services. Municipalities are required to review and report on the implementation of their plans on an annual basis and to update them every five years to align with the IDP cycle. Currently all 30 Municipalities have developed IWMPs, however seven Municipalities are required to update their IWMPs since they have expired. The Department is currently liaising with these Municipalities to ensure compliance.

The Directorate: Waste Management of the Department hosts an annual integrated waste management capacity building workshop/webinar aimed at all 30 municipal Waste Management Officers and other senior municipal managers. The event covers various aspects of waste management including e.g. municipal finance, municipal infrastructure grants, waste management logistics, waste management technologies, waste management legislation updates and other innovative waste management solutions. Topics change annually based on the capacity building need identified internally and as requested by the Municipalities.

The Directorate: Waste Management hosts three Western Cape Waste Management Officers’ Forum (WMOF), with the mandate to coordinate waste management and build capacity of municipalities. The WMOF serves as a collaborative platform where municipal and provincial officials coordinate waste management efforts, share best practices, and discuss new policies and technologies. It builds municipal capacity, supports compliance and reporting, and strengthens alignment with provincial and national waste legislation. The WMOF encourages innovation and acknowledges municipalities that demonstrate improved waste management performance. Officials serve on the Provincial SALGA Working Group where they brief and capacitate the municipal leadership on various waste management related aspects.

The capacity building workshop is aimed at all municipalities in the Western Cape, including metropolitan, local and district.

Terms of Air Quality Management:

The Department actively supports municipalities to plan and manage air quality, which includes addressing the effects of rapid urbanisation. This is primarily achieved through the Department’s close involvement in the development and review of Municipal Air Quality Management Plans (AQMPs), which must be included in its Integrated Development Plan (IDP), in line with Section 15(2) of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (Act No. 39 of 2004). During the review process, detailed responses and feedback are provided on the Municipal AQMPs, particularly regarding municipal activities that link to urban growth, industrial development, and population expansion.

In addition, the Department provides:

• Ongoing feedback and response to the Local Government Medium Term Expenditure Committee’s (PGMTEC) Strategic Integrated Municipal Engagement (SIME) and Technical Integrated Municipal Engagement (TIME) process, highlighting and monitoring compliance requirements with the NEM: AQA. In terms of the IDP reviews, the Department determines whether budget and capacity are allocated to the air quality management function.
• Technical feedback into the Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) and Environmental Management Frameworks (EMFs), specifically focusing on reducing or preventing air pollution as it relates to urban growth, industrial zoning, and residential development.
• Reviews and provide technical feedback to Municipalities on their Municipal Air Quality By-laws, which provide municipalities with legislative tools to effectively regulate local emission sources.

Finally, regular engagement is maintained through the quarterly Air Quality Officers’ Forums (AQOFs), which it coordinates and hosts. The forum provides a platform where Municipalities share experiences, raise emerging urbanisation and planning challenges, and discuss coordinated responses to such challenges.

The Department is currently in the process of reviewing its 3rd Generation Provincial AQMP, which will inform the 4th Generation AQMP for implementation from 2027-2032. This new AQMP will further integrate strategies to address air quality challenges associated with rapid urbanisation and industrial expansion in the province.

Aside from the AQOF, the Department does host capacity building initiatives to strengthen the ability of municipal officials and managers to fulfil their air quality management responsibilities. More recently, the Department has partnered with SALGA to provide air quality management capacity building sessions to Municipal officials, Councilors and senior Municipal Managers.

Focus of the programmes:

The capacity building programmes focus on enhancing understanding of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEM:AQA), the health and developmental impacts of poor air quality, and the role of municipalities in addressing these challenges. The training also promotes awareness of the importance of integrating air quality considerations into municipal planning processes such as IDPs, SDFs, and AQMPs.

Municipalities currently involved:

In June 2025, the Department, in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), hosted a capacity-building session specifically targeting Municipal Managers, Councilors and officials. The session aimed to inform leadership of the importance of air quality management and strengthen institutional commitment to the function. The programme included representatives from District and Local Municipalities within the Western Cape.

Additionally, through the quarterly Air Quality Officers’ Forum (AQOF), the Department continues to provide ongoing knowledge-sharing opportunities. The AQOFs include expert presentations on priority topics identified by municipalities, including air quality monitoring, data management, compliance monitoring, and urban development impacts.