The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein has refused the Old Cape Village Trust’s application for leave to appeal the earlier judgement handed down in February 2008 by Cape High Court Judge Dennis Davis which required the immediate demolition of a tarred and stone kerbed public parking area for 51 cars and the plastered brick columns of a signpost in the Noordhoek Farm Village and to return Erf 453 Chapman’s Peak to its original condition which was an overgrown vacant field. NEAG through its attorney has insisted upon immediate fulfillment of the terms of the court order.
In response to the latest rejection of its application for leave to appeal the trustees of the Old Cape Village Trust have undertaken to adhere to the ruling of the court as soon as practically possible starting with the closure of the disputed parking area on Fri 11 July at 15h00. Demolition of the signage columns will commence, weather permitting, on Monday 14th July and of the parking area as soon as a demolition plan has been finalized and a contractor appointed. Unfortunately the court’s decision leaves the Old Cape Village Trust with no alternative but to give notice of termination of lease to the Noordhoek Nursery, Noordhoek Carwash and to NEAG itself which manages the Noordhoek waste recycling depot on the disputed site.
NEAG had objected to the formal parking area established on Erf 453 which is owned by the Trust, forms part of the Noordhoek Farm Village and is zoned as open space. The Trust had argued that the entire Village is private property zoned as Special Area and that nothing precluded it from creating a public parking area on Erf 453 which is designated as open space.
According to Jeremy Wiley, a trustee of the Old Cape Village Trust, all attempts to resolve of the dispute which started in late 2006 in a sensible and practical way have been rejected by NEAG. The fact that the Noordhoek Farm Village has become an increasingly popular destination for local residents and visitors and obviously requires additional parking to avoid dangerous and reckless parking along Noordhoek Main Road and Village Lane has been ignored by NEAG. Most residents of Noordhoek believe NEAG’s behavior has been an illogical, costly and wasteful exercise that benefits neither the environment and certainly not the general public.
“The Old Cape Village Trust deeply regrets the inconvenience to Noordhoek residents , visitors, its tenants and staff that the demolition of the parking area and signage columns will cause. The fact that neither Judge Davis nor the Supreme Court of Appeal deemed it prudent for the matter to initially be dealt with through the normal land usage channels of the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Provincial Government or to accepted oral evidence suggests that rulings made on the basis of legal technicalities can ignore the best interests of the public on the ground”.
“ How the destruction of a well designed and constructed public parking area and its replacement with an overgrown field on private land in an area that clearly needs more public parking will assist the natural environment defies logic. NEAG has demonstrated once again total disregard for the wellbeing 21 local enterprises, employing collectively over 150 local people, and the many hundreds of Noordhoek residents who view Noordhoek Farm Village as their sole source of economic livelihood as well as local social and recreational venue.”
ENDS
Enquiries: Jeremy Wiley, Old Cape Village Trust
Tel: 021 7891317, Cell: 082 446 0126
Fax: 021 7891318