Heritage Western Cape

History

Heritage Western Cape took over the role of the former National Monuments Council in the Western Cape after the 1996 Constitution made cultural matters a shared responsibility between national and provincial governments. This shift required a new system where many duties were moved to the provincial level through the National Heritage Resources Act. Rather than passing its own heritage laws, the Western Cape government used the act's provisions to set up a provincial heritage resources authority, formally establishing Heritage Western Cape by regulation on 25 October 2002.

The province's Minister for Cultural Affairs and Sport appointed a council in 2003, which has held quarterly meetings ever since. The council created several sub-committees that handle the roughly 3,300 applications received each year for work on protected sites. The organization inherited about 2,500 former national monuments, now called provincial heritage sites, and continues to apply various protections under the act. The logo was officially launched by the provincial minister on 13 May 2006.

Council and committees

A council appointed by the province's Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport governs Heritage Western Cape, with up to 14 members serving three-year terms. This council meets quarterly and has an executive committee led by the council chairperson, which includes the chairs of all standing sub-committees. The current council and its sub-committees have terms ending on 31 October 2023. Five standing sub-committees, each composed of specialists, manage daily operations.

The Built Environment and Landscapes Committee (BELCOM), established in 2003, reviews permit applications for structures and landscapes that are provincial heritage sites, provisionally protected, on the register, public monuments or memorials, or older than 60 years, meeting monthly. The Archaeological, Palaeontological and Meteorites Permit Committee (APM) handles applications for work on archaeological, palaeontological, and meteorite sites, also meeting monthly, and advises the Impact Assessment Committee on related impact assessments.

The Impact Assessment Committee (IACom), created in 2010, evaluates impact assessments submitted under the National Heritage Resources Act, the National Environment Management Act, or the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, meeting monthly. The Appeals Committee, established in 2003, deals with appeals against decisions by other committees and staff, meeting monthly, with a further appeal option to a tribunal set by the provincial minister.

The Inventories, Gradings and Interpretations Committee (IGIC), formed in 2012 from three merged sub-committees, recommends grading of heritage resources, adoption of inventories, formal protection of sites, and interpretation texts, meeting quarterly.

Inventories of the national estate

Inventories of the national estate are lists of identified heritage resources within a specific area or category, submitted to Heritage Western Cape when a municipal planning scheme is created or amended. Inventories have been submitted for the built environment of various Cape Town suburbs, the built and scenic environment of Drakenstein and Overstrand municipalities, the built environment of George, Knysna, Swartland, and Prince Albert town, the historic core of Stellenbosch and its university main campus, and the Church Street precinct in Tulbagh (Witzenberg). These inventories mostly cover built environments in urban areas and are not complete for the entire municipalities.