Hello Lower Gardens community and welcome to our very first edition of the Lower Gardens CID newsletter. Our newsletter is designed to keep you informed about our progress and plans for a safer, cleaner precinct. We are excited to start this journey with you and look forward to building a strong, vibrant community together.

AGM

Our first Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on November 18th at 18:00. The venue details are as follows:

• 14 Hope Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001

Please remember that only registered LGCID members can vote on the LGCID budget and other important matters. We urge all property owners to sign up as members via links on our website. As a reminder:

The interim board has set an ambitious but achievable goal: to establish Lower Gardens as the best inner-city suburb in South Africa. This is a goal we cannot achieve alone. It requires the support, engagement, and involvement of every stakeholder in Lower Gardens. We look forward to working with you to make our shared vision a reality.

Urban Management Update

We are pleased to report a measurable decrease in overall urban management incidents recorded during this period. This positive trend indicates that the CID's consistent presence and proactive management strategies are effectively maintaining public order and safety within the precinct.

The majority of incidents our team addressed fall into three primary categories, demonstrating the focus of our day-to-day operations:

1. Addressing Social Challenges: Our team continues its structured, compassionate work in responding to situations involving persons experiencing homelessness. This intervention is necessary to maintain safe public access and adherence to by-laws, and it is conducted in collaboration with our law enforcement partners where possible.
2. Traffic Incident Response: Our security personnel frequently act as first responders to minor vehicle accidents and traffic disturbances. They secure the scene, manage initial public safety until official emergency services and SAPS arrive, and assist in documentation.
3. Emergency First Aid: Our staff provide crucial emergency medical assistance for various minor incidents, ranging from small injuries to supporting individuals requiring urgent care, bridging the gap until professional paramedics arrive.

This month, our commitment to proactive urban management resulted in a decrease in newly logged issues, dropping from 58 calls to 42. While the City processed many closure notifications, our field checks sometimes indicate that re-logging is necessary to achieve a full, functional resolution. This commitment to verification ensured that the 9 calls genuinely completed last month represent truly resolved issues, matching last month’s verified success rate

Our dedicated law enforcement officer has increased his enforcement activities across all sectors, resulting in a necessary increase in issued notices. This ensures a proactive approach to maintaining public order and by-law compliance within the precinct.

• Section 56 Notices (By-Law Summons): These notices increased, pertaining to summonses issued for by-law infringements such as illegal dumping and unauthorised trading. These actions hold repeat offenders accountable.
• Section 341 Notices (Vehicle-Related): These notices also increased, primarily issued for vehicles contravening parking, traffic, or other by-laws, which assists in improving traffic flow and public space access throughout the Lower Gardens area
  
  
  

 
Public Safety Update

We noted an increase in reported criminal incidents last month, but our public safety officers addressed this activity directly, achieving a corresponding increase in arrests. This result signifies that our presence is effective in intercepting and responding to active threats. The majority of these arrests were connected to offenses involving drugs and housebreaking, which is essential for reducing criminal activity within the Lower Gardens area. Our dedicated team remains highly visible and vigilant on the ground, serving as the precinct's eyes and ears and consistently focused on public safety.

Notable Incidents

Crime Prevention in Action: Quick Thinking Saves the Day!

Recently, one of our officers noticed a suspicious individual lingering near a white Nissan NP200. Acting quickly on their intuition, the officer approached the man. When confronted, the suspect immediately dropped his bag with a search revealing that the bag contained items typically used in vehicle crimes, including spark plugs (often used to break windows). Additional LGCID officers were called to the scene, with SAPS, and the suspect was arrested.

On Patrol: A Win for Safety on Solan Road

While conducting their regular patrols, our team noticed a suspicious person. When they approached, they detected the presence of narcotics, leading to the discovery of illegal substances, including Tik (Methamphetamine). The swift action was immediately escalated to SAPS. The suspect was taken into custody and subsequently arrested for drug possession. 

Our goal is to create a secure environment where every resident, business, and visitor feels safe. Your cooperation is vital to our success.

Cleaning & Maintenance Update

In September there was an increase in the amount of litter and debris collected across the precinct. This positive increase is a direct result of our tailored cleaning operations, which allow us to focus staff effort on specific areas needing attention which can then be identified for future greening and urban regeneration initiatives. This strategic approach is working, and we plan to roll out more of these focused initiatives as the CID continues to grow its service offering.

Our biggest ongoing challenge on the ground remains illegal dumping. We urge all stakeholders to please report any instances of dumping immediately when you see it to the control room on 087 330 2177.

Welcome to Streetscapes!

We are happy to announce a significant step forward in our commitment to the Lower Gardens precinct: we have officially partnered with Streetscapes to manage our social development and greenspace initiatives. Their start date will be on the 1st of November 2025. Streetscapes are a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation dedicated to ending homelessness by growing better lives.

Social Services Update 

Streetscapes will lead our social services mandate by working closely with individuals experiencing homelessness. Their approach is focused on "hand-up" strategies, providing real work opportunities, psychosocial support, and mentorship, rather than simple handouts. They will actively partner with existing local NGOs and service providers to ensure a coordinated, long-term path to upliftment and reintegration.

Parks Recreation Update

Streetscapes will be directly responsible for the maintenance and improvement of our greenspaces. This means they will oversee the day-to-day care of our public parks, ensuring they are clean, well-maintained, and safe for community use. This partnership ensures that our parks become a source of pride, supported by a team dedicated to long-term care and management

Announcements
 
Public Participation Notice on the Disposal of Properties

The City of Cape Town is currently undertaking a process regarding the Proposed Sale of three City-owned properties in Lower Gardens (Harrington Street and Upper Canterbury Street). Please kindly follow the link for more information.

Please ensure all formal comments or objections are submitted directly to the relevant City of Cape Town official by the deadline.

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 encourage all property owners to join the Lower Gardens Connect Platform, our primary communication channel for staying updated on community matters. By doing so, you will now be able to log incidents directly to our control room using WhatsApp

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