Final bid to halt Durban's Point development

DURBAN residents have mounted a last-ditch legal battle to scupper a multibillion-rand plan to build a luxury hotel, shops, offices and yachting marina at the mouth of Durban harbour.

In papers lodged in the Durban High Court this week, the Save Vetch's Association charged that the proposed small-craft harbour development was "a recipe for disaster" that would transform a popular family beach and water sports hub into "a sterile and expensive parking lot for big, expensive boats".

It was motivated by a mindset of "development at all costs" to maximise private profit and had brushed aside legitimate opposition by several interest groups.

The Durban Point Development Company has not filed responding papers yet and company spokesman Neels Brink would not be drawn yesterday on how the latest court case would affect the controversial and long-stalled project, after an environmental impact assessment (EIA) process which has lasted nearly seven years.

The company, which had been hoping to start major earthworks three days ago, is already entangled in two other cases to evict Durban Paddle Ski Club members, who have refused to budge from their premises at Vetch's Beach.

Brink said in papers lodged in the Pietermaritzburg High Court last year that the company was gravely concerned it would lose money if construction was delayed and "any undue holdup might result in a potential lack of investor confidence", which could jeopardise the project.

Now, the company is embroiled in a fresh battle in the Durban High Court with the Save Vetch's Association, which includes members of the Point Yacht Club, the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (Wessa), surfers, sailors, windsurfers, paddle skiers and fishermen.

The association hopes to overturn the EIA approval granted by the KZN Agriculture and Environmental Affairs Department in February last year.

According to Wessa's Di Dold, the provincial government department charged with safeguarding the environment had shirked its duties and displayed "a gross and alarming abdication of responsibility".

"It (the department) has not applied its mind to the impact this development will have on those people of Durban who use this beach and have nowhere else they can use for the activities they pursue. . . (the department has) been singularly inept to date on halting any untoward development that is impacting on the environment, as they simply do not have the ability to monitor matters of this nature," Dold said.

The association also questioned the "irregular" replacement of two senior department officials, who had apparently questioned the need for and desirability of the project.

The Save Vetch's Association said records of the ownership of land below the high water mark had been withheld by Brink.

Brink replied in a letter that "the substance of commercial agreements between Durban Point Development Company and National Ports Authority is not for public disclosure".

Johnny Vassilaros, chairman of the Durban Paddle Ski Club, said the withdrawal of the two officials from the decision-making raised suspicion about the impartiality and fairness of the process, and that critical land ownership documents were not available raised suspicions around "collusion" between government departments and the development company.

From a legal perspective, the association argues that the project cannot go ahead without Parliament's say-so as the sea is coastal public property and cannot be used for private gain.

On safety issues, Mike Larmont of Surfing SA and KZN Windsurfing charged that the small craft harbour design was "a recipe for disaster" and that sailing into the harbour would be akin to "driving a motor vehicle on a bed of oil".

"It is inevitable that craft will be wrecked and lives may be lost . . . the entrance will become a shipwreck alley or a possible death alley."

The association says a better solution would be to expand existing moorings in the harbour.

"The critical urban renewal and economic development of the city can take place without (another) small craft harbour being built, largely at the expense of ratepayers."

The Mercury

Posted at 10:03AM Feb 05, 2010 by Editor in Market  |  Comments[4]