DoT ordered to produce proof of access road decision

Lifestyle co-owner and developer Bruce Rencken is sticking to his guns with his claim that construction of the R1.4 billion Ballito Junction is illegal.

Rencken was granted a High Court court order on December 3, ordering the Transport department (DoT) to produce proof that procedures were followed in allowing the access road opposite Virgin Active to be built.

In August, Rencken and his business partner, Pietermaritzburg developer Rob Alexander of the company IMA Rent Collector, applied to the Pietermaritzburg high court to have construction of the new Junction halted because, they maintained, developers Flanagan and Gerard, Menlyn Maine and others did not hold public meetings to discuss significant changes to the access road off the Ballito entrance road (P445), nor did they have approved building plans for the new centre.

Rencken and Alexander accused the KwaDukuza Municipality of turning a blind eye to their activities.

Rencken claims the new Junction will affect the value of his home at Fernwood Farm and will make access for him and residents of the neighbouring Wakenshaw Estate extremely difficult.

Once the centre is completed he and other residents will have to use the new mall entrance which will be “akin to driving through the Pavilion shopping centre” to get home, he said.

He does not believe that DoT has approved the new road.

“The link road has not been rezoned for it to be used as a public road and significant building is occurring without required approval.

“The inconvenience of sharing an access road with a major shopping centre will have an adverse effect on my property value.”

Rencken said no public meeting had been arranged by DoT or the developers to discuss the new road and other relevant issues. He demanded that the developers, the municipality and DoT produce proof that the necessary approvals had been given, without success.

This latest visit to the court was to ask the court to order DoT to produce a record of decision. The order was granted and DoT was ordered to comply within 10 days.

In the first court appearance in August, lawyers representing the municipality and Flanagan and Gerard said they believed the action had been brought solely for commercial reasons and not legal ones. KDM municipal manager, Nhlanhla Mdakane, said that building plans had been passed and that construction was lawful.

Judge Henriques said at the time she expected to deliver judgement within two weeks, but has not done so.

Construction of the expanded mall, to 70 000 sqm, is more than halfway, with completion scheduled for March 2017.

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