High Court halts construction of Stellenbosch mountain estate pending environmental review
The Western Cape High Court has ruled that no houses may be built along the Botmaskop mountain slopes in Stellenbosch until the environmental authorisation for a planned 77-unit estate has been reviewed.
Image: AI Ron
In A 52-page judgment, the Western Cape High Court has ruled that no houses may be built along the Botmaskop mountain slopes in Stellenbosch until the environmental authorisation for a planned 77-unit estate has been reviewed.
Judge Melanie Holderness said the court was tasked with determining whether an interim interdict should be granted to preserve the status of the Botmaskop Fynbos Estate, a 77-unit development located on the slopes of the scenic Botmaskop mountain above Helshoogte at Portion 2 of Farm Amoi No 490, Stellenbosch.
The court papers state that to date, only the roadworks and the reservoir have been constructed on the property and not a single dwelling or other above-ground building has yet been constructed.
The interdict sought to halt any above ground construction work, pending review proceedings in terms of which the applicant - the Stellenbosch Interest Group (SIG), challenges the amended environmental authorisation granted by the Director of Development Management in the Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs Development Planning, dated February 18, 2021.
In her findings, Judge Holderness ruled that the Botmaskop Fynbos Estate and others are prohibited from construction until final relief is determined and that the parties can seek further court direction for a quick review and change the order's terms.
The court papers state that the interim interdict doesn't affect Botmaskop Fynbos Estate's right to claim damages from SIG if the review fails.
Botmaskop Fynbos Estate is also ordered to pay the applicant's costs for their application to file a further supplementary answering affidavit.
The court papers reveal that a developer bought the 30.7ha farm in 2003 for R3.135 million.
The developer was granted rights to construct a mountain resort, which would have amenities such as ten rooms, 15 chalets, a swimming pool, gymnasium and a conference room, but this never materialised and in 2019, a new owner, Reset Properties, took over with another construction modification and proposed 67 units with a footprint of 33 930 square metres.
SIG is a voluntary association representing Stellenbosch residents' environmental interests.
The respondents include government bodies, the developer, namely Botmaskop Fynbos Estate, and property owners. Only Botmaskop opposed the interdict.
The property was initially authorised for a small mountain resort in 2003 and in 2021 amendments allowed for a residential estate, which SIG claims was granted without proper public participation.
SIG argued that the 2003 authorisation lapsed due to non-commencement of the original development and that the 2021 amendment was unlawful.
It was for this reason that they called for the interdict to prevent irreversible environmental damage and that the review process will take time.
They sought to have the 2003 and 2021 environmental authorisations declared lapsed and to review and set aside various decisions related to the development.
Botmaskop argued that the development was largely complete and that an interdict would not serve any environmental purpose.
The residents, via SIG, argued that the development footprint and the environmental impact was significant.
Cape Argus