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Law firm assists residents of Protea South informal settlement

Law firm assists residents of Protea South informal settlement

24th April 2014

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Law firm Webber Wentzel recently assisted the residents of Protea South informal settlement (Protea South) against eviction by the City of Johannesburg (City).

The matter was heard by the South Gauteng High Court (High Court) on 31 March 2014. The High Court ordered that the City be interdicted from undertaking any demolition of residential structures at Protea South, pending finalisation of the main issues of the matter. The City was further ordered to provide interim basic services such as communal water taps located within 200m of each household, chemical toilets of one per household, and high mast lighting.

In 2008 Webber Wentzel had acted for the occupiers of Protea South in an application to the High Court for an order compelling the City to enter into a process of consultation with the occupiers to determine the feasibility of an in situ upgrade, as required by the Housing Code. The Housing Code states that relocation of informal settlements is a last resort and must be preceded by consultations with occupiers, aimed at securing their consent to the relocation and to the terms of relocation. The High Court had found the decision to relocate the occupiers to be unlawful and had ordered the City to enter the requisite consultations, which were held and reported on.

In 2012 the Council for Geo-Sciences adopted a new standard for assessing dolomitic conditions, which aims to facilitate development on dolomitic land. This was gazetted under the Standards Act, No. 8 of 2008.

Webber Wentzel contended that before the City could make a decision on whether to either upgrade Protea South in situ or to relocate the occupiers to Doornkop, the City was required to comply with the criteria of the new standard in assessing the risk of dolomite and in assessing how these risks might be managed.

The High Court further ordered that the:

  • City comply with the Framework and Scope of Works as recommended by SRK (geotechnical consulting engineers) as being necessary for the City to comply with the new standard and to file its report thereon within four weeks of the date of the order;
  • applicants and joinder applicants comment on that report within four weeks of its delivery;
  • respondent may reply within two weeks, and that the costs of the application be included in the cost of the main application.

Protea South consists of some 6 400 households.

Webber Wentzel legal advisors Moray Hathorn and Chiara van Ingen assisted in this matter.

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