Phoenix residents and developer lock horns over approved development

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05-07-2024
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News 24
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• Ratepayers of Phoenix in Durban are demanding that the construction of a building that they claim encroaches on the environment should be stopped.
• However, the eThekwini municipality and the developer say the claims are baseless.
• The developer, in response, has threatened to take legal action against the ratepayers if they continue to make "defamatory" statements.

Residents and ratepayers of Phoenix in eThekwini have threatened to take legal action against the eThekwini municipality and a developer to stop the construction of a building they allege encroaches on the environment.

However, the municipality and the developer, Prasheen Choonilall, insist that all is above board.

The dispute stems from a plan to construct residential units at 338 Viewhaven Drive in Phoenix, a high biodiversity area that forms part of Durban Metropolitan Open Space System.

Construction of the development started about three weeks ago.  

According to the ratepayers in Phoenix, the development did not comply with the relevant legislation.

In a letter addressed to eThekwini city manager Musa Mbhele last month, advocate Kuben Samie claimed that the developer did not have a building plan and "did not have any rights, authority nor permissions to conduct any activities on the property".

Samie said the local community was not consulted before construction took place.

"The municipality has thus acted unlawfully in disposing of the property, allowing the development to commence, and granting approvals for the building plans in contravention of the by-laws," Samie claimed.

Mervyn Govender, one of the aggrieved residents, told News24 that they felt the development destroyed green spaces in their community and would not benefit them.

"This building will put a strain on the limited infrastructure available in Phoenix. Already, it takes about an hour to leave Phoenix every morning due to the traffic. Our water and electricity supply will also be strained," Govender continued.

Municipality and developer response

The eThekwini municipality said they had considered environmental concerns before approving the development.

In a statement to News24, municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said:

"The development in Woodview, at 338 Viewhaven Drive, is part of the council-approved Phoenix infill project, which commenced in 2000. In the specific case of 338 Viewhaven Drive, there is an approved building plan from February 2024.

"The building plan was circulated to all relevant departments, including the environmental planning and climate protection department. The plan was approved from an environmental point of view," Sisilana continued.

She would not comment on other queries. Instead, she said the City would not respond further because the matter had become part of a legal process.

Cameron Wilson, a lawyer representing Choonilall, said the allegations by the ratepayers of Phoenix were baseless, vague, and unsupported by evidence.

In a letter to Samie on Thursday, seen by News24, Wilson said there was no proof that Choonilall had acted unlawfully, and allegations by the ratepayers were "mired in conjecture".

Wilson continued:

As we have maintained, our client has all the authorisation required and, despite us asking you and your clients repeatedly for any information which contradict our claim, we will invite you and your client to our offices to view all the approved plans and necessary approvals. This, we believe, will put an end to the matter and put your client's suspicions to rest.

Wilson said comments about the development by ratepayers were defamatory and threatened to interdict them with costs if they continued making their claims in the public domain.