Liesbeek project contempt hearing postponed
Civic groups opposed to a R4.6bn office development in Cape Town’s Observatory, with tenants including Amazon, said the developers’ presence on the site is in contempt of a court order and have approached the Western Cape High Court to stop maintenance work.
A Business Day report says construction of the complex began in September, but was interdicted in March to allow for further consultation between developers and indigenous groups.
Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath ruled that ‘the development of substantial economic infrastructural and public benefits can never override the fundamental rights of First Nations peoples’.
Her judgment has been taken on appeal to the SCA by developers, the city of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government and the First Nations Collective to the SCA.
The developers, the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust, returned some staff to the site last month for maintenance work after wet winter weather, but said no further building was taking place.
Environmental work is being done on the polluted canalised rivers.
But the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council and the Observatory Civic Association insisted the developers must leave the site.
The legal teams agreed on Tuesday to postponement of the matter until 27 July.
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.
