Heavyweight team continues proposed N2 toll fight

TOYOTA, Umbogintwini Industrial Association and South Gate Business Park continue to fight the authorisation granted to the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) by the Department of Environmental Affairs and subsequently approved by the Minister of Environmental Affairs for the tolling and upgrade of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road from Isipingo to Gonubie in the Eastern Cape.
The parties argue that authorisation was granted without meaningful consideration given to the social and economic impacts that will result from the extensive tolling in the South Durban area that has to take place in order for the road to the Wild Coast to be financially feasible.
These include re-alignments and bridges over gorges in the Eastern Cape.
Central to the case is the argument that the social and economic impacts that this authorisation will have on the people and the extended community of South Durban was not properly taken into account in the decision making process.
In January of this year Toyota, Umbogintwini Industrial Association and Southgate Business Park launched review proceedings in the North Gauteng High Court against this authorisation.
In response to this court challenge the Department and Ministry were obliged to disclose all the information that was before them when they authorised the tolling and upgrade.
Eventually, after being threatened with an application to compel proper disclosure, the government disclosed the full record of its decision-making in October.
Some of this information had not been made available to the public during the environmental impact assessment and has added further impetus to the review proceedings.
One such example is that Tolplan, the specialist consultant who conducted the traffic report for SANRAL, had been exempt from the requirement of being independent from SANRAL.
This decision made by the Department to exempt Tolplan from independence is now also being challenged in the review application.
On board to bring the review application reflecting the concerns of business and the greater community of South Durban Basin are heavy weight environmental and constitutional attorneys and advocates – Gilbert Marcus SC, with Max du Plessis and Andreas Coutsoudis, instructed by attorney Aldine Armstrong.
A separate High Court challenge has also been launched on behalf of communities in the Wild Coast area by Cormac Cullinan Attorneys in Cape Town.
Those applicants have briefed Senior Counsel Geoff Budlender to argue their case. It seems likely that other communities in the Durban South Basin may also be joining in one of the reviews.
Both SANRAL and the Department and Ministry of Environmental Affairs are expected to file responding statements to the review papers by the end of January 2013.
Thereafter Toyota, Umbogintwini Industrial Association and South Gate Business Park have an opportunity to reply.
It is expected that the hearing may be heard towards the middle of next year.