Cape Town - The City has reached an out of court settlement with the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) for the complete and final cessation of all legal action in relation to the River Club development matter.
In a brief statement mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “The City is pleased with this outcome and the clear message it conveys – that the City will always vigorously defend planning decisions taken correctly, and will act to protect Cape Town’s reputation as a leading global investment destination.”
In terms of the settlement, the OCA will make a contribution to the legal costs of the City.
A spokesperson for the OCA, Edwin Angless, said the group was waiting to hear from its lawyers before it could comment, and that it would comment in due course.
By the time of writing the comment had not been received.
Mayor Hill-Lewis said: “The River Club development is now proceeding based on the conditions of its planning approval, along with the major economic, environmental and heritage benefits for Cape Town and its residents.”
The settlement comes after the May 16 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) denying the OCA permission to appeal against the Western Cape High Court’s order dismissing its application to interdict the River Club development.
The SCA ruled that the OCA had no reasonable prospect of success on appeal. Its decision was seen as a victory for the Liesbeek Leisure Property Trust (LLPT) and a blow to the OCA, which had been trying to stop construction at the River Club site pending a legal battle with the City over development approvals.
The site, which is expected to house online retailer Amazon’s African headquarters, has been the subject of several court battles between the OCA, which is a community-based organisation, the LLPT and the City.
LLPT’s spokesperson Trace Venter said the LLPT saw the SCA order as “another win for the residents of Cape Town who stand to benefit from the numerous benefits the development will deliver”.
Venter said they felt vindicated by the SCA order, and that construction was set to continue.
“Over a period of more than four years, LLPT conducted an all-encompassing and exhaustive environmental, heritage and planning application process in full compliance with all applicable statutory requirements,” Venter said.
In March this year LLPT said work on phase one of the development was ongoing, buoyed by a decision of the South African Heritage Resources Agency’s (SAHRA) special grading and declaration review committee to recommend that the River Club not be provisionally protected.
Last week the Western Cape High Court dismissed indigenous knowledge historian Tauriq Jenkins’s application for leave to appeal against a finding about the true leadership of the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC).
The application has to do with the consultations and permissions granted for the River Club Development in Cape Town, which the GKKITC, led by Jenkins, is opposed to.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za