The Camps Bay & Clifton Ratepayers Association is sticking to its guns that a five-star hotel which is expected to be built along Victoria Road will make their beachfront resemble a concrete jungle.

A Weekend Argus report says the association has applied for leave to appeal a decision by the Western Cape High Court which allows for the hotel to be built on Erf 3349, which used to be the home of the Place of the Bay Hotel.

A total of 90 residents logged personal objections to the city’s planners and felt their pleas were being ignored following the decision last month. The city said the application had no irregularities and it was happy with the court’s decision.

‘The application was assessed in terms of the requirements of the municipal planning by-law and relevant city policies and was accordingly recommended for approval,’ he said.

However, association chairperson Chris Willemse said the community of Camps Bay was overwhelmingly against the development due to it taking away from the area’s natural beauty.

‘Camps Bay has a strict special area rule to prevent the beachfront from becoming like Sea Point, or any other high-rise area – no more than three floors and not higher than 10m. The city granted planning permission for five floors and a 15-metre height. The lack of parking was also a major concern. This is unacceptable and appears to indicate the extremely close relationship between the city and the development industry, while sidelining the ratepayers and residents of Cape Town.’

Full Weekend Argus report