Beach house owner fined for illegal construction
The owner of an illegally constructed R3m west coast beach house has been fined R175 000 by the provincial environmental authority – and may still be ordered to demolish it completely and rehabilitate the site. A BusinessLIVE report notes the fine has to be paid before the Western Cape’s Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning will process the owner's application for condonation of the illegal construction.
The house was built about 35m from the high-water mark on a long, narrow 97ha strip of property that is part of Mosselbaai Farm, about 3km south of Elands Bay.
The property is owned by businessperson Parkin Emslie.
The house was built in 2011-2012 without permission in terms of the National Environmental Management Act – a legal requirement because it is within the proclaimed 100m coastal strip – and without building plans being approved by the Cederberg municipality before construction started.
The national Department of Environmental Affairs’ oceans and coasts branch has recommended that the property owner be issued with a ‘removal and repair notice’ as soon as possible. Emslie also failed to inform Heritage Western Cape about construction of the house – another legal requirement because the property includes a midden that was proclaimed as a provincial heritage site in April 2009.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
