By
Dear Property Owners and Interested Parties
Happy New Year! We hope you all had a wonderful, restful festive season surrounded by family and friends. Whether you spent the holidays traveling or enjoying some quiet time at home, we trust you have entered the year feeling refreshed and ready for what lies ahead. As we kick off our first edition of the year, we are incredibly excited about the journey in front of us.
Our community is growing and evolving, and we are committed to keeping you informed every step of the way. Over the course of this year, the newsletter intends to provide you with real-time news on community projects, success stories that highlight the people and milestones that make our community unique and new ways for you to get involved and share your voice.
Urban Management Update
While the holidays are a time for celebration, they also bring an increase in movement throughout our community. Beyond these proactive measures, our teams responded to a variety of other situations:
- Road Safety: We attended 3 vehicle accidents, providing coordination and support at the scene.
- By-Law Enforcement: There were 9 recorded offences related to public disturbances. These included drinking in public, substance abuse, fighting, and public intoxication.
Maintaining the quality of our public spaces remains a top priority. During the recent period, we saw a slight uptick in community engagement regarding service delivery, showing that our residents remain vigilant in reporting issues.
- Total Requests Logged: 85 (up from 79)
- Total Requests Resolved: 20 (up from 13)
While the number of new logs increased, we are encouraged to see a significant jump in the resolution rate. This indicates that our reporting pipeline to the City is functioning effectively, even during the holiday season. The majority of the requests logged this month focused on two main issues:
- Street Lighting: Reports of non-functional lights.
- Illegal Dumping: Specific hotspots were identified and reported.
We are pleased to report that the City dealt with these specific matters swiftly, restoring lighting and clearing refuse to maintain the aesthetic and safety of our streets. While we have made great strides, there are still pending items currently being tracked. Most outstanding requests sit within the Roads and Infrastructure and Parks and Recreation departments. We are continuing to follow up on these to ensure they receive the necessary attention as the City settles back into its full operational schedule
You can use Whatsapp to report incidents via our LGCID Connect channel. This is our primary communication channel for staying updated on community matters and logging incidents directly to our control room. Please take note that should you WhatsApp call the Control Room, it will be declined and you will receive a call from our Control Room on 087 330 2177.
From a law enforcement perspective, the festive season in the Gardens area was notably quiet during daylight hours. The lack of general activity is reflected in the slight decrease in the number of traffic and compliance notices issued.
While there was a marginal uptick in Section 56 notices, the overall volume of Section 341 notices dropped, largely due to the reduced daytime traffic and fewer parking-related offences during the peak holiday weeks.
Law enforcement officer accompanied by Lower Gardens CID public safety officers issuing fines to e-hailing bikes driving on incoming traffic along Wesley Street corner Maynard Street.
The decrease in these figures suggests that while the community was active at night (as seen in our urban management stats), the "business as usual" traffic and daytime congestion were significantly lower. Our law enforcement partners remained on high alert, but the lower volume allowed for a more focused approach on high-priority safety areas rather than administrative or parking infringements.
Public Safety Update
While the Gardens area was relatively quiet during the day, we did observe an increase in criminal activity over the festive period. A total of 12 incidents were reported and recorded by the CID, an increase from the 4 incidents recorded in the previous month. Unfortunately, no arrests were carried out during this period.
The primary areas of concern identified were:
- Smash-and-Grabs: Multiple reports of smashed vehicle windows.
- Attempted Housebreaking: Several instances of attempted forced entry into residential properties.
Of the 12 incidents recorded by our team, we only received one official SAPS case number from the victims involved. This is a critical gap that we need to address as a community. Why reporting to SAPS is vital:
- Legal Authority: An official case number gives our public safety team the legal standing to hand over suspects to SAPS for formal arrest and processing if they are caught.
- Resource Allocation: SAPS determines the number of officers and vehicles dispatched to our "police blocks" based on official crime statistics. If incidents are not reported, our area appears "safer" on paper than it actually is, leading to fewer police resources for our streets.
If you are a victim of a crime, please report it to SAPS immediately and share the case number with the CID. Even if you feel nothing can be done, that case number is a powerful tool for the safety of the entire community.
Notable Incidents
Attempted break in along Scott Street.
2 suspects entered into the property wearing a green hoodie jacket carrying a moonbag and the other suspect had a red hoodie jacket. The suspects fled the scene when the property owner woke up.
Visible patrolling along Buitenkant Street.
Whilst on patrol along Buitenkant and Wesley Street, public safety officers caught a suspicious person with possession of housebreaking implements to be used to commit the crime. The person was profiled and taken out of the area.
Cleaning & Maintenance Update
Our cleaning teams remained dedicated to maintaining the aesthetic and hygiene of our streets throughout the festive season, tackling both routine maintenance and significant site clearances. Overall, we saw a decrease in the total volume of refuse collected, with the bag count moving from 1,592 to 1,396. While the total volume was lower than the previous month, the team's efforts were redirected toward high-impact "deep cleaning" and site clearances in preparation of the eviction order which was carried out on the 6th of January 2026.
In preparation of the eviction order, our cleaning team successfully removed 7 illegal structures. Those operations were vital for reclaiming public spaces and ensuring they remain safe and accessible for all residents. Key areas of focus included Tuin Plein Park in which we successfully conducted the removal of 4 structures in the park and in doing so collected over 300 bags of refuse. In Buitenkant Street, we were able to remove 2 structures and collected 90 bags and on Wesley Street, CoCT waste management assisted us in the removal of a vacated structure along Wesley Street.
Social Services Update
The landscape of our social environment has seen a significant shift over the past month as we moved closer to the implementation of the eviction order. We recorded a substantial decrease in social services interactions, dropping from 89 to 34. This decline is directly attributed to individuals proactively moving on from their structures in light of the eviction order which was carried out on the 6th of January 2026.
While there was a noticeable migration away from certain sites, the uptake of formal assistance was low. Out of those we interacted with during this period, we recorded a total of 5 referrals to City of Cape Town (CoCT) Safe Spaces. It is clear that while many vacated their previous locations, not many transitioned into the offered alternative accommodations. We remain committed to facilitating these referrals and encouraging individuals to utilise the professional support and safe environments provided by the City.
Parks Recreation Update
Our green spaces are the heart of our community, and we are pleased to share some significant updates regarding their management and our vision for the future. Our dedicated park warden continues to oversee the daily cleaning and maintenance of Jutland and Maynard Parks, ensuring they remain tidy and welcoming for all. We are also excited to announce that our scope of services has expanded: the CID has officially taken over the maintenance of the Gordon Street verge.
While our teams are working hard, we are currently facing a significant hurdle regarding access to water for these parks. Consistent irrigation is vital for the health of our plants and lawns. We are actively following up with the City’s Parks and Recreation team to resolve this as a matter of priority.
We are thrilled to announce that we have formally signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Parks and Recreation department. This formal partnership is a game-changer for our community. Over the coming year, you will see a much larger focus placed on our Parks and Recreation team. With the MoA in place, we have the framework needed to significantly uplift our green spaces, improve infrastructure, and ensure our parks are the vibrant, safe, and beautiful assets our community deserves.
Announcements
Lower Gardens CID Compliance
Please be advised of a recent update to our Procurement Policy, specifically concerning Section 6: Confidentiality, Protection of Proposals, and Access to Information. This amendment reinforces our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and fairness throughout the procurement process.
Should stakeholders require access to confidential procurement documents, they will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to the release of such information. We urge all stakeholders, suppliers, and prospective bidders to review the updated policy, which is available on our website, to ensure full adherence to these revised confidentiality and access requirements. Compliance with these protocols is mandatory for participation in future tenders.
LGCID Camera Network Survey
The CID is preparing to launch a new security camera network. Help us ensure maximum coverage and avoid duplication by completing a short survey about any private cameras you own facing the public space in Lower Gardens precinct. Your participation enables strategic planning and faster response to incidents.
Your Eyes, Our Impact: See it, Share it
As we work to establish Lower Gardens as the best inner-city suburb in South Africa, we want to ensure our efforts are measured by clear data, not just opinion. The performance of the board, our operations team, and all our suppliers will be judged on concrete evidence of continued improvement across the precinct.
To make this possible, we need your active participation. Your feedback and reporting are vital. We ask that you report all incidents, report all crimes with SAPS and provide case numbers, log all service delivery requests, and provide constant feedback on the success of our operations. You can do this by calling our LGCID control room, which is operated 24/7, on 087 330 2177. Alternatively, you can contact us via our website at LGCID reporting. 
We are happy to share that you use Whatsapp to report incidents via our LGCID Connect channel. This is our primary communication channel for staying updated on community matters and logging incidents directly to our control room. Please take note that should you WhatsApp call the Control Room, it will be declined and you will receive a call from our Control Room on 087 330 2177
Contact Us
For general inquiries, suggestions, or to report an issue, please contact us at:
Email: cidmanager@lowergardenscid.co.za
Office Phone: 087 330 2177
Website: www.lowergardenscid.co.za
Physical Address: Lower Gardens City Improvement, Gardens, Cape Town, Western Cape, 8001, South Africa
Lower Gardens City Improvement District
