Dear Property Owners and Interested Parties

June marks an exciting evolution for the LGCID as we lay the groundwork for our local economy. To ensure we are targeting our efforts effectively, we are launching a comprehensive community survey and audit to evaluate the current needs of our local commercial sector and determine how we can best support you. 

Confronted with rainy weather and changing neighborhood trends, our teams expanded into graffiti removal and kicked off winter drain clearing protocols. Complemented by a stellar milestone of 5 cooperative arrests with CoCT Metro Police and the beginning of the restoration at Tuin Plein Park, LGCID is moving into the winter season firing on all cylinders nurturing safety, community development, and economic growth in Lower Gardens.

Important Notices from the Lower Gardens CID

Local Government elections

Please note a significant change affecting all stakeholders who reside in Lower Gardens. Following recent boundary adjustments, our community will now solely fall under Ward 115. Previously, Lower Gardens was split between Ward 77 and Ward 115. Due to this consolidation, all residents are required to re-register ahead of the upcoming elections.

• New Voting District / Station: St Mary’s Primary School, located at 12 Tuin Plein (directly opposite Tuin Plein Park).

1. • In-Person: Visit the St Mary's Primary School voting station during the official registration weekend on 20 & 21 June.
   • Online (Anytime): Skip the queues by visiting the official IEC Website: registertovote.elections.org.za and clicking the "Get Started" button under the Register to Vote section. 

General Incidents Update

 The month of May saw an overall increase in activity, with a total of 12 general incidents reported. This represents a slight rise from April. The primary driver for this increase was a spike in traffic/operational accidents, heavily influenced by adverse weather conditions. Of the 7 reported accidents, 2 were classified as hit and runs. 

Traffic accident on Annadale Street corner Hatfield Road.

This is not an isolated incident but a growing problem identified over the last few months. In light of the deteriorating road behaviour and the rising trend of hit-and-run incidents, we urge all motorists to exercise extreme vigilance, maintain safe following distances during poor weather, and prioritise collective road safety. Additionally, the team responded to one tragic incident involving a death by natural causes.  

Public safety team assisting with litter collection along Hope Street corner Scott Street.

City of Cape Town Update

May saw a noticeable decrease in the volume of new service requests logged compared to April. The majority of all C3 requests in May were directed to the Roads Department.

City of Cape Town Parks and Recreation team trimming trees along Scott Street.

May saw a noticeable decrease in the volume of new service requests logged compared to April. The majority of all C3 requests in May were directed to the Roads Department. The repair of water reinstatements is an ongoing matter which we are trying to address. These specific repairs have a unique SLA turnaround time which the water department has to use its own contractors to close the defect in the road. This results in the delay of having it repaired. At the time of drafting the newsletter, we had 3 reinstatements which were outstanding which were at the following locations:

• Solan Road and Scott Street.

• McKenzie Street and Wembley Road.

• Wandel Street and Gordon Street.

We are happy to confirm that these have all be repaired and thank you for your patience in our attempts to have them resolved.

Water reinstatement repaired along Scott Street corner Solan Road.

Water reinstatement repaired along Wandel Street nearest corner Barnet Street.

Outstanding reinstatements are as follows:

• Maynard Street corner Harrington Street. 

• Wandel Street corner Vrede Street.

While these infrastructure repairs take substantial time to resolve, our team is systematically logging all faults, maintaining an active backlog trail, and consistently following up with the respective departments who are aware of the outstanding issues.

You can contact us on WhatsApp  to report any service delivery issues you see in the Lower Gardens CID. This is the most effective way in assisting us address outstanding service delivery concerns in the neighbourhood.

The month of May saw yet another increase in fines issued by our law enforcement officer. This marks a consistent, gradual upward trend over the last three months, highlighting intensified efforts and a dedicated focus on ensuring public and motorist compliance. This surge in enforcement aligns critically with our recent observations regarding motorist behaviour, specifically the rising trend of hit-and-run accidents. Increased on-the-spot Section 56 fines directly combat reckless driving behaviour.

Law enforcement officer issuing a fine for gambling in public along Hope Street.

 
Public Safety Update

Public safety interventions saw a steady rise this month, reaching 505 interventions (up from 497 in April). Our teams have identified and are closely monitoring an increase in rough sleeping in more hidden, less visible areas. Monitoring these secluded spots remains a priority to manage safety, security, and social development escalations. This follows a consistent, gradual upward trend over the last three months. 

There was a noted decrease in stop-and-search operations, dropping from 18 in April to 10 in May. Despite this monthly decline, these operations have consistently proven highly effective as a deterrent. They remain ongoing and central to our strategy to disrupt and prevent crime in the community.  

Public safety team engaging with rough sleepers under Mill Street bridge.

Overall criminal incidents showed an increase from 8 in April to 10 incidents in May. On the other side of this however, our public safety teams were able to achieve massive success on the ground, securing 5 arrests (up from 0 in the previous month). The area is currently experiencing a wave of opportunistic crime, specifically smash-and-grabs targeting vehicles, as well as the theft of exterior car parts (e.g. batteries, windshield wipers, etc.).  

 A cornerstone of this month's success was our collaboration with external enforcement agencies. We conducted a number of joint operations with the City of Cape Town (CoCT) Metro Police. Of the 5 total arrests secured, 2 were made possible directly through these joint operations. We extend our sincere thanks to CoCT Metro Police for their partnership and continued support in keeping Lower Gardens safe.  

Joint operation between Lower Gardens CID and CoCT Metro Police.

Notable Incidents

Joint efforts.

One suspect was arrested after stealing cooper and a geyser from a building along Hope Street. The information was shared with the LGCID control room who then reacted in collaboration with Fidelity ADT officers. 

Signal jamming. 

Theft out of motor vehicle incident occurred along Buitenkant Street nearest corner Mill Street. The victims personal belongings including a laptop were stolen from the vehicle.

Public Safety Notice

Feedback from the neighbourhood forums that we attend indicate that criminals are adopting tech-savvy methods to target parked vehicles. Perpetrators are utilising a Bluetooth scanning app called BlueRadar (and similar BLE signal radars) to detect the exact signal strength of hidden electronics inside cars. Stashing a laptop, tablet, or phone in your trunk or glove compartment is no longer enough. If the device's Bluetooth is left on, criminals can locate it instantly through the vehicle's chassis. We strongly urge the public to:

1. Not leave any electronic devices in your car.
2. That if you absolutely have to, then completely power them down or at a minimum completely switch off bluetooth.

Cleaning & Maintenance Update

Wet weather conditions throughout May presented operational hurdles for our cleaning deployment, slightly hindering on-street operations. Consequently, the total volume of general waste bags collected saw a marginal decrease from 1,072 bags in April to 1,040 bags in May.

To mitigate the impact of the rainy season, our cleaning teams are shifting their focus toward cleaning stormwater drains again. Initial work done was to clean all drains which had not been cleaned for quite some time. Areas that have high foot traffic and trees will be primarily focused on as the litter and debris fill our drains. During the final week of May the team commenced with their operations successfully clearing 9 drains, extracting a total of 42 bags of silt, debris, and litter directly from the stormwater system.

Stormwater cleaning operations re-commencing on Hope Street corner Glynville Street.

Help us stay ahead of the weather and please report any blocked drains via our WhatsApp channel. Our team will intervene where possible and ensure any issues requiring City suction equipment are logged promptly.

Social Services Update 

There was a general decrease in waste collection, dropping from 94 bags in April to 68 bags in May. This drop is the direct result of a shift toward targeted hotspot cleaning, which requires more intensive, time-consuming effort per area rather than rapid bulk collection. The team primarily focuses on high-priority problem sites, including the abandoned houses on Harrington Street and the area under the bridge on Mill Street.

The Social Services team recorded a decrease in case management engagement, with the number of follow-ups with existing clients dropping from 69 in April to 58 in May. During this period, one individual successfully accepted and transitioned into a Safe Space opportunity. This data highlights a persistent, direct correlation showing that a significant portion of the homeless population continues to decline or resist formal shelter and Safe Space opportunities, even with consistent professional outreach.

Social services interactions in the month of June 2026

In a direct effort to address shelter resistance and adapt to the trend of rough sleepers moving into hidden spaces, we intend on expanding  our social development scope of work by developing a comprehensive Lower Gardens homelessness survey which will be conducted at nighttime in collaboration with the Public Safety team.

The main goal of the nighttime interventions is to gather deeper, localised insights into homelessness trends specific to the Gardens area, actively encourage street people to relocate to Safe Spaces, and guide our long term, hand up approach to tackling homelessness moving forward. 

Parks Recreation Update

Over the course of May, the City of Cape Town (CoCT) Parks and Recreation team officially commenced major work on repairing and restoring Tuin Plein Park. This project marks a significant step forward in reclaiming and upgrading public green spaces in our community. The ongoing restoration over this period includes:

• Trimming and crowning of trees to improve safety, visibility, and arbor health.
• Setting foundations and installing brand-new playground and outdoor gym equipment.
• Removing old tar surfacing and preparing the ground for a community garden.
• Sanding down, repairing, and painting perimeter fencing.

We extend our sincere thanks to our ward councilor Ian McMahon and the CoCT Parks Department for their invaluable assistance and continued collaboration with us to restore Tuin Plein Park into a safe, beautiful asset for all residents.

General maintenance and cleaning remained consistent across our other local parks. Reflecting the seasonal drop in public park usage due to wet weather, waste collection decreased as follows:

• Jutland Park: 14 bags collected (down from 44 bags in April).
• Maynard Park: 19 bags collected (down from 31 bags in April). 
  

Park warden cutting grass along Glynn Street between Buitenkant Street and Hope Street.

Announcements

Lower Gardens Business Survey

Over the next two months, our team will be launching an intensive door-to-door and email outreach campaign to connect directly with all local business operators in Lower Gardens. This project involves a comprehensive local business survey and audit. Through this initiative, we aim to:

• Map our commercial landscape by understanding the total number of businesses.

• Determine the types of industries operating in our area

This audit will allow us to evaluate the specific needs of our commercial sector and identify exactly how the LGCID can best support you moving forward. Your insight is vital to shaping a thriving local economy. We strongly encourage all approached members to participate in this upcoming survey, your feedback is highly appreciated, and we look forward to growing together.

Bin Day

The public safety team requests that all property owners take their bins out on the day of refuse collection. It has been observed that several property owners place their 240-litre wheelie bins on the street the night before collection. According to the City of Cape Town (COCT) Refuse Removal Contract, bins should only be placed outside on the day of collection. This non-compliance:

• Provides gathering points for vagrants.

• Encourages scavenging behaviour (as per the image attached)

• Increases the risk of theft or misuse of refuse bins for criminal activities.

• Negatively impacts the cleanliness and safety of the precinct.
  

Your assistance in complying is highly appreciated.

 Sub-Council 16 Notices

As part of our commitment to keeping the community informed, we would like to highlight several matters currently before Subcouncil 16 that require public awareness or formal comment. Public participation is a vital tool for ensuring that the development of the Gardens and Lower Gardens area aligns with the needs of its residents and businesses. They can be found on the following links:

• • Proposed granting of rights to use, control or manage various city owned land parcels, in Cape Town.
  • Have your say on on the CCT's draft Road Safety Strategy.
  • Amendments to the 2026/2027 March tabled budget

Interactive Lower Gardens CID Dashboard

We are happy to launch our new interactive dashboard, providing full transparency into all incidents and logs recorded by the CID since inception.

This platform helps us track trends and shares insight into what directly informs our daily operations. Going forward, this will be our primary tool for weekly incident reporting. Our goal is to keep you better informed with real-time insights into our neighborhood's safety and maintenance. View the live data here: https://stats.lowergardenscid.co.za/

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