The Wellington Open Day was recently held as part of the Drakenstein Municipality’s Wellington urban regeneration project, which aims to realise some of the ideas recommended in the Wellington Urban Design Framework.
The Open Day attracted the attention of quite a few curious members of the public, and has since allowed the municipality to engage and reflect exactly on what it is the people want.
Lauren Waring of Drakenstein Municipality explained that the municipality is focused on demonstrating the benefits of collaboration by encouraging municipal departments to work together in Wellington and Paarl.
“The goal is to make a visible and real difference to people’s daily experiences,” she says.
One of these recommendations was the development of an activated town square, between Burger Street and Joubert Park and around the Wellington Town Hall. This project is supported by the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (EDP), an intermediary organisation committed to encouraging partnering and collaboration.
The aim of the Open Day was to build a relationship with the Wellington community by creating an opportunity to discuss the idea of a public square.
On the day, the public was encouraged to engage both with the Wellington Urban Design Framework and to propose potential uses for the square.
Approximately 160 people attended the Open Day, of which around 80 people engaged in discussions with the EDP. Most people seemed to like the idea of a town square where people could sit and relax or engage in urban park activities.
With some respondents commenting that the Open Day activities were enjoyable and that it would be great to have such events on a more regular basis. Of the respondents who indicated where they came from, 71% were from Wellington and Paarl.
The community was also given the opportunity to suggest the kinds of amenities, services and events they would like to see in future at a town square in Wellington, including social activities that are child-friendly, affordable, easily accessible and safe, as well as opportunities for local artists and vendors.
The public could vote for preferred uses within the precinct and the top three uses were: a Wi-fi zone, kids’ play area/equipment, and picnic-style tables and benches. Waring says the public’s responses illustrated strong levels of interest in a more activated space with outdoor seating as well as social activities such as regular music events.
She said: “Drakenstein Municipality is moving ahead with developing an active town square by setting up a steering committee in collaboration with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to take the process further.”
