The Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT) says it will launch an appeal against deputy judge president Patricia Goliath’s decision to urgently interdict construction of the R4.6 billion River Club re-development in Observatory, Cape Town.
This, after a court interdict filed by the organisers of the Liesbeek Action Campaign halted the construction of the 15-hectare parcel of land, which is expected to house US retail giant Amazon’s African headquarters, along with other large commercial businesses.
In the legal battle, the members of the Liesbeek Action Campaign, which include indigenous groups and environmentalists, expressed concern that the construction on the floodplain between the Black and Liesbeek rivers would lead to the land losing its historical significance and result in increased risk of flooding and environmental exploitation.
They also alleged illegal construction procedures were followed without the approval of all parties involved, in an attempt to hasten the building of the site.
Eight months since commencement of construction, Judge Goliath from the Western Cape division of the High Court handed down a ruling, stopping LLPT from continuing with the construction, until all parties have engaged at length.
In a media statement, LLPT vowed to contest the ruling. “The result of the interdict is the immediate suspension of thousands of permanent jobs in the Western Cape.
“Between June 2021 and March 2022, just under 4 000 workers have been employed during various stages of construction on the site. When the ruling was delivered on Friday, 18 March, there were 750 workers on the site who were sent home due to a halt in construction.”
The development is expected to create 6 000 direct jobs in total (800 of these jobs will only be created when the development is complete) and an additional 19 000 indirect jobs, notes LLPT.
According to the developer, the interdict has also put a stop to the extensive work that has already been undertaken to rehabilitate the heavily-polluted waterways running adjacent to the River Club property.
“The interdict also means a number of sub-contractors, including First Nations-owned companies, have had their contracts suspended, which will have a devastating impact on these businesses. Furthermore, just over 500 workers in factories supplying material to the site have also been impacted.”
At the time of the court ruling, the Observatory Civic Association and the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council, which form part of the Liesbeek Action Campaign, welcomed the judge’s ruling in favour of the urgent interdict.
“Judge Goliath dismissed the idea that the developer’s claim to suffer financial loss was relevant. She concluded the developer was fully aware of the risks they were taking in proceeding with the development when they knew the development was contested and subject to litigation.
“She also dismissed the argument that the development has substantial economic, infrastructural and public benefits, because ‘this matter ultimately concerns the rights of indigenous peoples’ and economic benefits ‘can never override the fundamental rights of First Nations Peoples’,” said the plaintiffs.
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