Court prohibits cranes from entering Bo-Kaap – for now

Chaos unfolded in the Bo-Kaap, when angry residents blocked a Blok crane from entering the neighbourhood clashed Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency/ANA

The Blok development in Bo-Kaap will have to be put on hold following the High Court’s order that their crane is prohibited from entering the area until a next court date is determined.

Last Thursday, December 6 the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers’ Association (BKCRA) appeared in the High Court to defend the community against a second interdict taken out by the developer, Blok.

The developer was granted the interdict by the court to prevent the community from interfering with its construction on 40 Lion Street. This caused havoc in Bo-Kaap as the community clashed with the police trying to prevent the Blok crane from entering the area.

The civic association appealed to all residents to show their support and solidarity at the High Court as they were calling for the setting aside of the interdict. The case had been postponed and the court ordered the developer to stop the construction until the court makes a decision. The matter is set to resume on Tuesday December 18.

Meanwhile, on Monday, December 10, the Bo-Kaap community was at the High Court for a hearing in their application for leave to appeal the court’s ruling on the “monster development” in Buitengracht Street.

In August this year, the High Court dismissed the community’s objection against the planned development (“Bo-Kaap loses land battle”, Atlantic Sun, August 22).

The City approved the R1 billion development, which is set to be 60m high, 18 storeys, with more than 200 apartments and three basement levels of parking.

The residents said the building would permanently deface the rich history, culture and heritage of the area.

The community argued that the development would cause traffic congestion and it would have an extremely negative impact on the heritage significance of the area that would be felt for generations to come.

The matter has been postponed to Thursday, December 13.

The secretary of the BKCRA , Jacky Poking, said they hope that in both cases the Bo-Kaap community receives a positive outcome.

“We hope the interdict against the community is dismissed and that we’re granted a leave to appeal,” she said.