Media Statement: Minister Marais Unveils Provincial Heritage Site Plaque

MEDIA STATEMENT: MINISTER MARAIS UNVEILS PROVINCIAL HERITAGE SITE PLAQUE AT OLD GRANARY COMPLEX, BUITENKANT STREET

Today, 19 April 2018, together with Heritage Western Cape and the City of Cape Town, Minister Anroux Marais officially unveiled the Provincial Heritage Site plaque at the Granary Complex in Buitenkant Street.

At the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport we strive to provide for the conservation, promotion and development of heritage resources to facilitate processes for the standardisation or changes, where necessary, to assist with heritage resource management by implementing at provincial level the mandates of the World Heritage Convention Act, 1999 and the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999.

Together with the expert assistance of Heritage Western Cape and the City of Cape Town’s facilitation, the historical significance of the Granary Site is now officially acknowledged and will rightfully be promoted in the public domain as a Provincial Heritage Site.  

At the unveiling ceremony, Minister Marais said, “As a result of in-depth research and official processes, the Granary Building can now be highlighted for its historical, aesthetic, architectural, social and economic significance. The Provincial Heritage Site status will communicate clearly and definitively that the heritage community and agencies consider this site to be a major and important heritage asset that warrants serious and focussed conservation.”

Minister Marais also thanked all who had a hand in the approval of the Provincial Heritage Site status bestowed upon the Granary Complex, saying “I look forward to collaboration and sharing of the newly officiated Provincial Heritage Site at the Old Granary Complex. Let this building continue to play host to events that define the evolution of the nation, province and region. I am grateful to each stakeholder for your contribution to a community’s sense of place and potential”.

The speech of Minister Marais is available online for ease of reference.