The suburb has long been popular due to its convenient locations, excellent amenities, superb schools, and affordable family homes.
Westville has always been a popular family suburb, primarily because of its accessibility to Durban, 15km away, and its position close to the freeways going in all directions.
Where is Westville located?
Set between Pinetown and Sherwood, Westville’s easy access to all points of the KwaZulu-Natal compass has been a primary driver for expansion. Over the past decade or so, a number of o¬ffice parks have been built in the region, with many large firms choosing Westville over the northern business parks. For many this has provided a desirable “live, work, play” lifestyle, which has kept them firmly rooted in Westville.
Schools in Westville
Another significant drawcard for Westville is its superb reputation for quality government schools. A number of the local schools, Westville Boys’ High School is a good example, have consistently achieved top academic results and are highly competitive at sports. From pre-primary up to matric, the numerous schools in the area cater well for the multicultural population.
Westville has the following schools:
- Westville Boys’ High
- Westville Girls’ High School
- Westville Senior Primary School
- Berea West Junior Primary School
- Berea West Senior Primary School
- Pitlochry Primary School
- Atholl Heights Primary School
- Deutsche Schule Durban
Smaller suburbs in Westville
Like so many of Durban’s more a¬ffluent areas, Westville includes a range of smaller suburbs, such as Dawncli¬ffe, Westville North, Berea West and more, within the greater region. Smaller enclaves have a wider spread of homes for sale, from a¬ffordable sectional title properties perfect for first-time homebuyers, to gracious old homes and contemporary dwellings on large plots. The topography of the area is largely hilly, with tree-lined streets and streams running through neighbourhood gardens.
Shopping in Westville
With the suburb’s expansion, new retail o¬fferings have popped up and existing ones have been refurbished. The Pavilion – the second-largest mall in KwaZulu-Natal after the Gateway Theatre of Shopping – draws shoppers from Westville and beyond. The well-situated Westville Mall has comprehensive retail o¬ffering and is a central meeting point for the community. Westville Junction and Westwood Mall are other popular malls, and there are numerous smaller strips of retail shops dotted throughout the suburb.
Higher education institutions in Westville
Westville has a number of higher education institutions, namely the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus (previously the University of Durban – Westville), Varsity College Durban Westville campus and the International Hotel School.
Other activities you can do in Westville
There are many churches and mosques in the area, as well as sports clubs and community activities. Gardening, garden clubs and open gardens are popular due to the ideal weather conditions, and many homes have large gardens. The Westville lifestyle revolves around community involvement and outdoor events, such as sports and family fun.
Things to do in Westville:
- Bergtheil Museum
- Palmiet Nature Reserve
- Roosfontein Nature Reserve
- The Pavilion
- Westville Mall
- Westwood Mall
Our choice of Westville was not just about convenient access to work, but about affordability – we could buy a good-sized family home on a large plot, in an established, lush suburb. We love it here!
Sports clubs in Westville, Durban:
- Westville Old Boys Sports Club
- Chiltern Park Sports Club
- Gryphons Hockey Club
- Westville Country Club
- Westville Swimming Pool
Why we love Westville Mall:
Owned and managed by Growthpoint Properties, Westville Mall is a contemporary community shopping centre with a tenant mix perfectly suited to the market it serves. To the delight of shoppers, the mall has recently extended its parking facilities and now offers 60 minutes of free parking. People using the Virgin Active gym have 90 minutes of free parking. The mall has everything from banks to beauty shops, fashion outlets and hardware stores, as well as a number of eateries ideal for casual meetings over coffee or ice-cold craft beer after work.
Find out more at westvillemall.co.za.
This article originally appeared in Neighbourhood, Sunday Times.
