Why Registering Is Important To You – NRPA – Noordhoek Ratepayers Association

Our Strength lies In Your participation and in Unity

Any resident of Noordhoek should register with the NRPA. By you registering with the NRPA your community gains more power to influence the future development of our area and you gain first hand information of all activities going on.

Noordhoek, like the rest of Cape Town, is experiencing unprecedented development and growth and this pressure on the area can be expected to increase exponentially. Your involvement as an NRPA member, big or small, will contribute to evolving and sustaining the special culture and way of living in our Noordhoek, so Get Involved!

To Register click here

An estimated 4,500 dwellings are anticipated to be constructed in the area in next three years alone; public participation processes are currently underway to extend Houmoed Avenue to join Kommetjie Road to Noordhoek Main Road; construction work is in progress to provide for greater traffic flows on Ou Kaapse Weg and Kommetjie road; applications are being made to rezone land for schools & cell phone masts, to grant additional liquor licenses in the area, and so the list goes on.

As an NRPA member you will be able to ensure appropriately skilled and experienced fellow residents are elected to the Executive Committee in order to best represent the interests of the community. Your membership will also ensure the NRPA is sufficiently empowered and resourced in order to effectively carry out the work it needs to do for the benefit of the whole community.

We chose to live in Noordhoek in order to enjoy a specific lifestyle, one which encompasses fresh air, sea, mountain, beach, stars, horses, nature and community (Noordhoek 2030 Vision link). It’s probably safe to say that it wasn’t an easy commute to our offices in the CBD, or a wide variety of schools or a vibrant nightlife that brought us here.

For those residents who have lived in Noordhoek for many years, the development in the area and change in lifestyle has been significant. The photograph below taken in 1972 shows a very different Noordhoek from today.

It is unrealistic and arguably counter progressive to prevent development altogether, we should, as a community, ensure that we are able to influence it. The City has published spatial development frameworks and guidelines within which it approves development applications. These are fairly broad and do not necessarily reflect the detailed context of unique areas. This is where local influence comes into play through public participation and a strong, organised local mouthpiece.

While any individual resident may interact with the city council, a ratepayers association is the officially mandated representative body of residents in these matters and is the collective voice for an informed and involved community. It is also the vehicle through which community resources can be channelled to make more powerful and informed representations to the City decision makers.

We all have a role to play in enhancing and developing our community. The aim of the NRPA is to provide a platform for engagement with the relevant authorities, to make the most of the services they provide to the community and to ensure that the community has a say in the decisions which affect them. A community which is involved and interacts is a cohesive force for community good. As custodian of the Noordhoek 2030 Vision, a vision crafted by the numerous Noordhoek residents and stakeholders who participated in the process and which is largely representative of all those living in Noordhoek, the NRPA is committed to ensuring all its activities are conducted within the ambit and objectives of this vision.

The NRPA Executive Committee and sub-committees are volunteers who receive no remuneration for the work they do on behalf of the NRPA. Whilst it is the responsibility of Noordhoek residents to ensure appropriately skilled and experienced fellow residents are elected to the Executive Committee in order to best represent the interests of the community, there is also a need to ensure the NRPA is sufficiently empowered and resourced in order to carry out the work it needs to do effectively for the benefit of the whole community. This requires a broad membership base to secure a strong mandate, and access to both financial and professional resources.

As a Noordhoek resident, please consider joining the NRPA so that together we can realise our vision for Noordhoek.