Court grants appeal in Currie Road saga

DEVELOPERS, Serengeti Rise Industries, who are responsible for the now infamous 317 Currie Road development, were granted by the Durban Supreme Court on Friday morning, leave to appeal Judge Steyn's earlier judgement which called for the building to be demolished.

Acting for the developers, Chris de Beer from Garlicke & Bousfield Inc, said: “We note the ruling of Judge Steyn to grant the application for leave to appeal her original decision to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Notwithstanding the unfortunate media hype which has muddied the facts of the matter, this ruling clearly vindicates our long held position that the original judgment was, in our view, simply inconsistent with our law and the judicial authority.”

“”It reiterates the position that there remains a very real prospect that another court will, having regard to the matters raised in the notice for leave to appeal, come to the conclusion that it is neither just nor equitable to order the demolition of the building. Serengeti Rise Industries (Pty) Ltd remains committed to the rule of law. To this extent, we will continue to expend resources to ensure that the law of the Republic of South Africa is properly applied in these circumstances,” he said.

In June this year, civic orgnaisation Save Our Berea together with neighbouring residents of 317 Currie Road, welcomed the ruling by Judge Ester Steyn that called for the demolition of the building.

A spokesman for the consortium led by Advocate ‘Pops’ Aboobaker, which opposed the construction at 317 Currie Road, said: “An appeal was expected since Judge Esther Steyn’s judgement has probably set a new precedent in South African judicial history. That judgement consisted of 30 pages and I believe covered many of the matters raised in court on Tuesday 25 September, when permission to appeal was sought. The granting of permission to appeal adds delays and increases the already considerable costs incurred by all parties, but is understandable in view of the benchmark verdict.”

Aboobaker is currently overseas, and could not provide comment.

Kevin Dunkley from Save Our Berea, said the civic group was not surprised that the judge gave a right of appeal. “The major principle under-pinning the strategy and direction of our activist organisation is one of a belief in the enforcement of the law, faith in the judiciary to apply the law and that the South African Constitution is the foundation of our government. Therefore, we are happy that the learned judge has not allowed the rights of the developer to be compromised, even though we feel that the original judgment is the correct one and that the Appeal Court will concur.”

He said Save Our Berea was however extremely disappointed at the actions of the eThekwini Municipality, who had said they would abide by the decision of the court, yet had now decided to also go on appeal.

“The fact that the council and the public servants involved allowed this terrible rezoning in the first place, then admitted to mistakes on their part, and yet see their way clear to defend the indefensible using ratepayers money, is an aberration that underlines the incompetency of officials and the political agenda of those who made these decisions on behalf of eThekwini. The sooner the politicians and public servants are held personally liable and accountable for these horrendous decisions that fly in the face of good practices, the better,” he said.

Dunkley said it should not be forgotten that the decision enriched one developer at the expense of the existing neighbours who have seen their property values drop.

“We continue to ask, what possible reason could the city have for this course of action? We don't think we will get an answer to that question because there is no rational answer that would make any sense,” said Dunkley.

EThekwini head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa, said the eThekwini Municipality welcomed the court’s decision on the matter.