New take on old things

GEORGE NEWS - A resident of George, Stéfan de Kock, was recently appointed as a council member to Heritage Western Cape (HWC) by the Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais. Over the last decade, De Kock has played various leadership roles within the Association of Professional Heritage Practitioners (APHP) and served as committee member of HWC's Inventories, Grading and Interpretation Committee (IGIC).

Established in January 2003, HWC is a statutory body responsible for the management of heritage resources within the Western Cape. It is governed by the council in accordance with relevant legislation, including the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act 25 of 1999) (NHRA).

The HWC council is the decision-making authority on matters of policy and aspects of the NHRA that have not been delegated to its committees, staff or municipalities. IGIC is an advisory committee to the HWC council responsible for adjudication of heritage surveys, interpretation and grading of heritage sites.

De Kock says there is a general misconception that "heritage" only pertains to historic buildings. In fact, he says, through enabling legislation HWC wants to promote and ensure that there is a broader recognition of our diverse heritage resources, both tangible and intangible, to nurture a deeper understanding of society.

This may include encouraging research that educates and fosters understanding of others' experiences, which would help build bridges between communities. Tangible heritage can include the built environment, cultural landscapes and sites of social and/or historic significance, while intangible heritage encompasses living heritage, oral traditions, languages, traditional performing arts, knowledge systems and values.

According to De Kock, other challenges include the need to proactively record tangible and intangible heritage resources to help streamline development approval processes, provide more certainty to potential investors, to grow the economy and create job opportunities.

He says communities in the Southern Cape need to become more involved with forward-planning processes and take responsibility to record their own heritage within the public platforms available.

Some of the recent projects implemented through HWC and IGIC include the declaration as Provincial Heritage Sites of the Old Granary Complex, Barrack Street in Cape Town; Rocklands Community Hall in Mitchell's Plain (launch site of the United Democratic Front); Al-Jamai Masjid in Stegman Road, Claremont; the grave site of Imam Abdullah Haron (struggle activist who died in police custody in 1969); and the Vergelegen Estate, currently listed as potential World Heritage Site.

• Interested groups may apply to HWC to become registered as formal conservation bodies and record their particular heritage-related interest. For further information regarding Heritage Western Cape staff and its committees, relevant legislation and policy, how to make an application, conservation bodies or public participation, log on to their website.

More about Stéfan de Kock
De Kock was born in George and grew up in the area. He studied urban and regional planning in Cape Town and started his career with local authorities, including Mossel Bay Municipality and the former South Cape District Council (now the Garden Route District Municipality).

In 2001 he moved to Dublin, Ireland, where he worked as urban and regional planner for the Irish National Appeals Authority and continued further studies in environmental impact assessment (EIA) management with University College Dublin.

In 2004 he returned to South Africa and started a consultancy, Perception Planning, focusing primarily on development projects related to urban planning and design, conservation planning and heritage impact assessment management.

Members of the new HWC Council: