Greens win as Paradyskloof development quashed

It took 13 years, but the Wildlife and Environmental Society of SA (Wessa) and other NGOs are celebrating victory after successfully opposing the proposed Paradyskloof development in what will go down as the day David trampled Goliath.

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein recently dismissed an appeal by the Paradyskloof Golf Estate company against a high court ruling that ended its plans to build a multimillion-rand golf estate on the environmentally sensitive fynbos site on the Somerset West side of the Stellenbosch mountains.

The saga had been brewing since February 1997, when Swedish investment company Nordic Trust bought on tender 247 hectares of the land from the Stellenbosch municipality. It planned to develop a golf estate that was to include 250 homes and an international luxury hotel and feature an international-standard golf course.

But there were many objections from the Stellenbosch community.Wessa was at the forefront of the opponents, and initiated the first challenge in the high court in Cape Town. It won the case because it proved rezoning rights had been issued before an environmental impact assessment report had been completed.

"It was a case of putting the cart before the horse," said Wessa national conservation officer Andy Gubb. "We challenged how (the municipality) could give a decision (to proceed with the development) without the environmental impact assessment report."

The Swedes withdrew and a group of Stellenbosch businessmen, operating as Paradyskloof Golf Estate, then bought the land for R35 million, although it was valued at R100m. The sale prompted the Stellenbosch Ratepayers Association to challenge the then ANC-led municipality's decision to sell the land. "We said ‘No, that's ridiculous'," said association chairman Hans Eggers.

But before the case was finalised, the DA took over the council and in November 2006 the municipality withdrew from the sale and development agreement with Paradyskloof Golf Estate, prompting the businessmen to seek a high court review.
The businessmen lost, with Judge Dennis Davis finding that the municipality had every right to withdraw. The developers then approached the Supreme Court of Appeal to have the decision overturned, but five judges have unanimously dismissed the appeal.

"It was the last nail in (the developers') coffin," said Gubb. He described the ruling as a victory for civil society.
"The most critical part is that we set a precedent that will be of value to all," Gubb said.

"The development was an unwise choice for the area and an abuse of resources that were valuable."Although it was a very long process, we stuck it out. "Big developers are used to getting their way and we showed them that we could take them on. "We did it on behalf of all civic societies, a real David versus Goliath situation."

Eggers said Stellenbosch residents were "over the moon"."This is a victory for the Stellenbosch people," he said.

Cape Times

Posted at 09:45AM Aug 02, 2010 by Editor in Cities and Towns  |  Comments[1]