City starts Steenberg evictions after victory
AFTER two decades of a legal battle the City yesterday claimed victory against businesses and occupiers of its land in Steenberg.
The City began evicting illegal businesses, which included a scrap metal dealer and other people who occupied the land in Military Road.
Assets and facilities management mayco member Stuart Diamond said despite the City instituting eviction applications in the magistrate’s court, and the main respondent agreeing in the first proceedings to an order requiring him to vacate the property, he has remained in unlawful occupation and erected various unauthorised structures on the property.
“The main respondent has been renting portions of the property to businesses and tenants. The businesses have been operating in contravention of the zoning of the property and all of the buildings were constructed without building plan approval. The land use contraventions are also the subject of criminal proceedings,” said Diamond.
According to Diamond, the City obtained court orders for the eviction of the main respondent and the other illegal occupants from the property in August last year.
He said the court orders also provided for the demolition of all of the illegal structures and for all businesses to cease operating on the property.
The City planned to execute the court orders at the end of October 2017 but had to postpone the eviction at the last minute following notification that the respondents would be challenging the eviction order.
This challenge never materialised, he said.
“It is no surprise that the main respondent failed to file the application, which has been a delaying tactic all along. This is a huge win not just for the City, but also the residents who have had to put up with the mess and noise of this illegal business operating literally on their doorstep.
“The City was just as frustrated as the residents by the long, drawn-out court process.”