The appeal against the ban on the R4.6bn Amazon office block and park development in Cape Town will be heard by a full Bench of the High Court in January 2023.

But a Business Day report notes that construction is continuing, so the project may be fairly advanced by then.

The five-month delay before the case will be heard could be viewed as a win for the developer, the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust.

The development was supported by eight First Nations groups, who claim to represent the Cape Peninsula Khoi. But it was opposed by the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Traditional Indigenous Council and the Observatory Civic Association, led by university Professor Leslie London, who asked the court to halt construction.

They claimed the concrete would damage the land they view as spiritually significant.

The two groups opposing the development have also filed a contempt of court application against the developer as they claim it is breaching the ban through continued construction. They do not agree that the appeal renders the ban invalid.

The contempt case will also be heard in January 2023.

Building was carried out from September 2021 until the March 2022 ban, and resumed in June 2022 when the developer filed its appeal.

By January 2023, about 12 months of construction will have been completed.

The groups in opposition are trying to get the court to ban construction temporarily while the other ban is being appealed against.

They have informed the Western Cape Judge President that they will enrol a new case for a ban, one they had initially tried to bring in July but withdrew.

Full Business Day report