The article was updated on 4 June to include Reverend Father Wim Lindeque’s response.
The abandoned excavation of a vacant piece of land in Stellenbosch Central has allegedly been causing infrastructural damage to a neighbouring property, according to Father Wim Lindeque, the parish priest.
The land, located on 77 Bird Street, has been undeveloped for nearly 20 years and is a cause for concern for the neighbouring St Nicholas Catholic Church, claimed Lindeque.
“The neighbouring property [77 Bird Street] has been vacant for as long as I can remember, and over time a hole on the property has formed and caused erosion,” said Lindeque. The erosion on the vacant property is causing infrastructural damage to the perimeter wall of the church, which borders on the property, according to Lindeque.
The land is allegedly owned by Daniel de Canha Senior. According to Lindeque, De Canha’s son, Daniel de Canha Junior, has been in discussion with the church about future plans to develop the land. MatieMedia reached out to De Canha Junior for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publishing.
“Daniel de Canha Junior informed the church that their land [77 Bird Street] is intended for a six-storey flat,” said Lindeque. However, according to Lindeque, municipal by-laws limit buildings in the area to two storeys, which was confirmed by Frederik van Dyk, member of the South African Research Chair in Property Law at Stellenbosch University.
The church is concerned that the by-laws will be disregarded, and that the new flats will discourage church attendance by adding to the noise and parking difficulties in the area, said Lindeque.
South African common law practices for property owners
All property owners are responsible for the upkeep of their own properties, Van Dyk.“The South African common law places the duty of lateral support between property owners; owners who withdraw support when excavating their land without providing temporary support, act unlawfully,” said Van Dyk in email correspondence with MatieMedia.
Excavation of land that results in infrastructural damage to adjacent properties can be reported, as stated in the Stellenbosch Municipality Land Use Enforcement by-law, according to Van Dyk.
“The area of 77 Bird Street […] is restricted to residential houses. Group housing and flats are only possible if the municipality consents in terms of section 54 of the by-law,” explained Van Dyk.
Lindeque also mentioned possible disputes between Stellenbosch Municipality and De Canha Senior. However, this claim was refuted by Mart-Marié Haasbroek, communications officer for Stellenbosch Municipality, who said that the municipality approached De Canha Senior amicably with a request to develop the site in question.
St Nicholas Catholic Church has not laid a complaint against the owner of the vacant property, opting instead to communicate with De Canha Junior, who has not offered assistance, claimed Lindeque.
By the time of publishing Stellenbosch Municipality had not provided comment on why De Canha Junior was asked to develop the land.
Response by Reverend Father Wim Lindeque
The undeveloped land adjacent to the St Nicholas’ Catholic Church is not a concern for the Stellenbosch Catholic community as we are in constant contact with the owner and can raise any problems directly through this channel. There has been no “infrastructural” (sic) or other damage to the property at St Nicholas’. The land has been undeveloped for almost 20 years and erosion has taken place after an excavation was done on the property. The erosion is now close to the boundary wall of the church and the owner is aware of this situation.
There are no plans to erect a six-storey flat on the undeveloped property to my knowledge and the St Nicholas’ community does not have concerns about a development on this vacant land, but we have been concerned about the municipality’s allowance of exceptions for large blocks of flats with up to six storeys in the Dennesig area. Some of these developments have been challenged by us through the Western Cape Heritage processes and through municipal procedures. This does not include any proposed development on the undeveloped property at 77 Bird Street.
We reiterate that we are in communication with the owner of the property directly and that any concerns have been and will be addressed through this relationship.
Reverend Father Wim Lindeque, Parish Priest of the Stellenbosch Catholic Church.