Glensburg – Professional Town Planners

Cities Institute

Independent research arm

Publishes research on South African urban policy, informing every application we prepare.

Glensburg is a town planning and urban research practice in Illovo, Johannesburg, led by SACPLAN-registered professionals. We prepare, motivate, and defend rezoning, township establishment, and consent use applications across the Gauteng City-Region, including representation before Municipal Planning Tribunals. In our experience, applications turn on the quality of their evidence. Ours are built on independent research and supported by in-house architects.

Glensburg is a town planning, architecture and urban research firm at 35 Fricker Road, Illovo, Johannesburg. The practice comprises two entities: Glensburg Town Planners, which conducts statutory planning and land use management for private developers, institutions and municipalities; and the Glensburg Cities Institute, a non-profit arm publishing independent research on South African urban policy.

Most applications are argued on compliance: does the proposal fit the scheme? That works until the scheme says no. The Chapter 2 development principles are national law and they bind the Tribunal, and arguing them requires evidence we produce in-house.

The Tribunal weighs objections on statutory validity, not volume. A neighbour’s fear of devaluation carries little legal weight; a substantiated traffic or bulk-services concern carries a great deal. We identify which will survive scrutiny during feasibility, not after.

There is no legal mechanism to shorten SPLUMA’s timeframes. The participation period and departmental circulation are mandatory. What can be compressed is time spent in resubmission.

We prepare land use applications under SPLUMA and the applicable municipal planning by-law, and appear before Municipal Planning Tribunals where a matter is referred. In our experience, most applications are decided on the quality of the motivation, not the merits of the site.

Every application runs the full SPLUMA process; from pre-application assessment through to the municipal decision, and representation before the Municipal Planning Tribunal where required.

From sectional title schemes to data centres, our planning work spans the full range of land use categories, each with its own zoning parameters, bulk provisions and approval pathway.

Each sector carries its own application profile. In our experience, agri-industrial proposals turn on the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970, data centres on bulk services capacity, and student accommodation on parking and density relaxations.

We prepare and defend land use applications across the Gauteng City-Region, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and North West, and appear before Municipal Planning Tribunals where a matter is referred.

Every municipality applies its own land use scheme and planning by-law. Johannesburg operates under the Municipal Planning By-law, 2016 as amended in 2023. In our experience, knowing precisely where these frameworks differ is where applications are won or lost.

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality

Midvaal Local Municipality

Mogale City Local Municipality

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

Mahikeng Local Municipality

Including Sandton, Randburg, Centurion, Pretoria, Germiston, Kempton Park, Krugersdorp, Meyerton, Bellville and Durban.

Practice notes, research from the Cities Institute, and updates on the by-laws and statutes that govern land use applications in South Africa.

What property owners and developers ask most often, answered from practice rather than from a template.

Tell us about the property and we’ll advise on the application route.

How long does rezoning take in Johannesburg?

A clean rezoning in Johannesburg with no objections typically takes about 6 to 9 months from lodgement to approval. Applications that attract objections and proceed to a Municipal Planning Tribunal hearing can run 12 to 18 months or longer, while consent use applications are usually quicker and township establishment generally takes 12 to 18 months plus proclamation. No legitimate town planner can "fast-track" past the statutory steps. The public participation period, external departmental circulation, and tribunal scheduling are fixed by law, so be cautious of any firm promising guaranteed timelines. In our experience the biggest cause of avoidable delay is not the City but an incomplete application: a motivation that invites objections, or a traffic impact assessment commissioned reactively after the City asks for it. This is precisely where a research-led approach earns its keep. We identify and answer the likely grounds of objection inside the motivation itself, before they are raised, which is what keeps a clean application clean.

How much does rezoning a property cost in Johannesburg, Gauteng?

The cost of rezoning in Johannesburg is not a single fixed fee. It is the sum of several components, which is why quotes vary so widely. These typically include the City's statutory application and assessment fees; professional town planning fees for preparing and motivating the application; any specialist studies the City requires, such as a traffic impact assessment or geotechnical report; statutory advertising and notice costs for the public participation process; and, for larger developments, engineering services contributions toward bulk infrastructure. The size and zoning of your property, the complexity of the application, and whether it is opposed all affect the final figure. In our experience a low flat fee quoted upfront rarely reflects the true statutory and specialist costs, and the shortfall tends to surface midway through the process. Glensburg provides a transparent, itemised estimate after reviewing your property and objectives, so you can see every component before you commit.

What is the difference between town planning (SPLUMA) approval and building plan approval?

These are two separate approvals, and in our experience they are the single most common point of confusion for first-time developers. Town planning approval (rezoning, consent use or a departure under SPLUMA and the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018) determines what you may legally do with the land (the use rights). Building plan approval, granted by the City's Building Control section under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, 1977 (Act 103 of 1977) and assessed against SANS 10400, determines how you may build (structural, fire, health and safety standards). You generally need the land use right first, then a Site Development Plan, then approved building plans before construction. Under the Act, the City must decide a building plan within 30 days for buildings under 500 m² and 60 days for buildings of 500 m² or larger. Building without approved plans is illegal and can trigger a contravention notice. Glensburg secures the planning approvals that unlock your project, and our in-house architects can then prepare and submit your building plans, keeping the entire approval process under one roof.

What is the difference between rezoning, consent use, subdivision, township establishment and consolidation?

The simplest way to tell them apart is what each one changes: rezoning and consent use change what you may do on your land, while subdivision, consolidation and township establishment change the land parcels themselves. Under SPLUMA and the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018:

Rezoning permanently changes a property's primary zoning and development controls (for example, Residential 1 to Business 1), altering rights such as floor area ratio, coverage and density.
Consent use grants a specific secondary right without changing the underlying zoning, for example a guesthouse, medical consulting rooms, or an early childhood development centre on a residential erf.
Subdivision divides one erf into smaller portions, each with its own title deed.
Consolidation merges two or more adjoining erven into a single larger property.
Township establishment converts farmland or unproclaimed land into a proclaimed township of multiple erven with roads and services.

Choosing the wrong application is one of the more costly mistakes we are asked to unwind, so Glensburg's planners assess your zoning certificate and title deed first to confirm exactly which application unlocks your goal.

Can I run a business from home in Johannesburg?

You can run certain low-impact businesses from a residential property in Johannesburg, but anything larger requires a consent use application. On a Residential 1 erf, low-intensity activities such as a home office may be allowed as an incidental use, subject to strict limits on floor area, number of employees, signage and parking. Anything larger (e.g. a guesthouse, medical consulting rooms, an early childhood development centre or a place of instruction) requires a consent use application under the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018, which grants a secondary right without permanently rezoning your property. Businesses that fall outside these categories usually need full rezoning. In our experience, many of the contravention notices we act on begin as home businesses that quietly outgrew their incidental-use limits. Operating without the correct rights risks such a notice, financial penalties and even closure. So before you advertise or invest, our planners check your existing rights and lodge the appropriate consent use or rezoning application to keep you compliant.

I've received a contravention notice from the City of Johannesburg, what should I do?

A contravention notice means the City has identified a land use or building on your property that does not comply with its approved zoning, the Land Use Scheme, or the National Building Regulations. In our experience most often an unauthorised business use on a residential erf, a second dwelling built without approved plans, or building work that outpaced its approvals. Do not ignore it: notices carry a stated compliance period, and failure to respond can lead to fines, legal action, or a demolition order. The correct response is usually to regularise the property by lodging the rezoning, consent use, or building plan application that legitimises the use, or, where that is not possible, to cease the contravening activity. Acting quickly protects your property's legal standing and value. Glensburg's planners assess the notice, advise on the fastest lawful route to compliance, and prepare the applications needed to resolve it.

What is SPLUMA, and how does it affect a land use application in Johannesburg?

SPLUMA — the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 — is the national law that has governed all land use and development applications in South Africa since it came into operation on 1 July 2015. It requires every municipality to adopt a Land Use Scheme, pass a planning by-law, and establish a Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) to decide applications. In Johannesburg, applications are lodged under the City of Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016 and assessed against the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018. Straightforward, unopposed applications are decided by an authorised official, while opposed or major applications such as rezoning and township establishment go to the MPT, and every application must align with the City's Spatial Development Framework. As research-led, SACPLAN-registered town planners, Glensburg prepares, motivates and defends these applications, grounding each motivation in the spatial evidence the Tribunal responds to, and represents clients at MPT hearings across the Gauteng City-Region.

Do I need a SACPLAN-registered town planner, and what does registration mean?

For any rezoning, township establishment, subdivision, consolidation or consent use application, engaging a SACPLAN-registered town planner is strongly advisable and, in practice, expected by the City of Johannesburg. SACPLAN (the South African Council for Planners) is the statutory body established under the Planning Profession Act, 2002 (Act 36 of 2002) that registers and regulates planners as Candidate, Technical or Professional Planners (Pr.Pln). A registered Professional Planner is bound by a code of conduct and subject to SACPLAN's disciplinary authority — a genuine accountability and trust signal. A registered planner correctly diagnoses which application you need, drafts a defensible motivation aligned to the Spatial Development Framework, manages the public participation process, and can appear before the Municipal Planning Tribunal to motivate and defend your case. Glensburg is a boutique, research-led town planning firm: our principals are registered with SACPLAN, and we bring an urban-research capability to every application that most planning consultancies do not.

Tell us about the property and what you need to do with it. We’ll advise on the application route, the likely timeline, and what the municipality will want to see. Initial consultations carry no obligation.

35 Fricker Road, Illovo, Sandton · Applications across the Gauteng City-Region

Research-led Professional Town Planners in Johannesburg

Glensburg (Pty) Ltd

2023/764252/07

2020 . Incorporated 2023

Professional Planners (Pr.Pln.)

A Town Planning Practice with a Research Institute

What research-led means for your application

We argue from SPLUMA Chapter 2, not only the by-law

We answer objections before the Tribunal sees them

We don't promise to fast-track applications

What We Do

Town Planning

Rezoning

Township Establishment

Consent Use

Consolidation

Subdivision

Contravention Notices

Sectors We Work In

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

Institutional

Specialised

Where We Work

Johannesburg

Ekurhuleni

Tshwane

Midvaal

Mogale City

Cape Town

eThekwini

Mahikeng

Research and Planning Guides

Rezoning in South Africa: Glensburg's Ultimate Guide 2027

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Town Planning Questions, Answered

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