Western Cape environmental authorities have issued warning notices to five Elands Bay beach property owners for allegedly illegally building houses and other structures within the protected coastal zone in contravention of the National Environmental Management Act.

GroundUp reports that the Act prohibits building work within 100m of the high-water mark on rural properties, without specific environmental authorisation.

If the owners fail to apply for condonation, or even if they do apply but if their applications are refused, they may be ordered to demolish all the structures and rehabilitate the site to its original state. They may also face a stiff fine and/or lengthy jail terms.

They are among 10 owners of erven on a private nature reserve on a long, narrow 97-hectare strip on Mosselbaai Farm, in the coastal zone south of Elands Bay.

One of the 10 landowners, Cape Town businessman Parkin Emslie, built a R3m beach house on his section of the property in 2011-12. The house was just some 35m from the high-water mark and too close to the frontal coastal dunes, according to the environmental authorities.

Furthermore, no building plans had been approved by the Cederberg Municipality before construction started, and Emslie had also failed to ask Heritage Western Cape for permission for the new house as the farm property includes an ancient archaeological deposit that was proclaimed as a provincial heritage site.

Emslie acknowledged the transgressions and paid a hefty fine to the provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning so that he could file a so-called 'section 24G application' in terms of the Act seeking ex post facto planning, environmental and heritage approvals for the illegal construction.

But in 2018, before the province had taken a decision, his beach house was burnt down.

Full GroundUp report