UWC Executive Director of Finance and Services, Abduraghman Regal, at the Bellville Higher Education Forum. Image: Cardre Goliath 

For the first time, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) hosted the Bellville Higher Education Forum and outlined its vision of how the University will play a crucial role in the future development of Bellville and surrounding areas.

The forum is part of The Greater Tygerberg Partnership and brought together UWC, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Stellenbosch University, Northlink College, the University of South Africa (UNISA), the TSIBA Business School and the City of Cape Town.

UWC Executive Director of Finance and Services, Abduraghman (Manie) Regal, outlined the current and future ambitions of establishing the University as an anchor institution in Bellville. 

He said: “In the past, it was a taboo statement to ask what is the return on investment? Now, even the Department of Higher Education and Training is using that term. When we talk about developments, there's the financial return on investment, then there are softer issues that are a return on investment, and how you quantify and capture that in your plans is fundamentally important.”

Regal presented the portfolio of UWC-owned properties and explained development plans for future student accommodation and increasing the footprint of academic facilities. 

“If we can create a viable student city, then let's create incentives for higher education or educational institutions to invest and reserve spaces before it is presented to the private sector. We must prioritise how we are going to assign space for education and the private sector.”

The forum is also an opportunity for Higher Education Institutions to discuss issues that jointly affect all of them, including public transport and public safety. Gerhard Hitge, a Non-Executive Director of The Greater Tygerberg Partnership, announced that the creation of dedicated cycling lanes from UWC and CPUT to Bellville South and Bellville CBD is at an advanced stage.

UWC Institutional Planner Loïs Dippenaar, CEO of the Greater Tygerberg Partnership, Warren Hewitt, Director: Strategic Projects in Institutional Planning, Laurine Platzky and UWC Executive Director of Finance and Services, Abduraghman Regal.

The City of Cape Town has approved the proposal for dedicated cycle lanes, and now the forum is moving to the design stage. “In the design stage that we want to enter soon, we're going to share the business plan with the different stakeholders,” said Hitge.

He added that they will work with the universities to create bicycle parking areas on campuses. “We would need to know where bicycles park when people cycle to numerous building points…we are now in the middle of 2025; now we envision the cycling bicycles to start rolling literally at the end of 2026, so for the full implementation in 2027,” said Hitge.

Safety and security concerns have been discussed with students, university management, and community structures. Hitge confirmed they relied on the same non-motorised transport plan currently at UCT.

The cycling plan is just one of the Bellville Higher Education Forum initiatives that aim to provide a platform for collaboration, discussion and action. The forum also explored issues of mutual interest and ultimately aligned opportunities towards realising stakeholders’ shared vision of a vibrant, active and safe Bellville and its surroundings.