“Coastal access is a right and should not be a fight . . .”
This is what the Cliff Path Action Group has been fighting for for years and, following a High Court ruling, it is now possible.
“For the past 50 years the ratepayers of Hermanus had tried to achieve this historic event,” Jobre Stassen, chair of the Cliff Path Action Group (CPAG) said. “The Cliff Path is the route thousands of local and international tourists use to experience the whale-watching capital of our country.”
After all protocols were followed and impact studies completed construction to connect the Cliff Path at Poole’s Bay began in February with the agreement that it will be stopped on 30 June to accommodate the whales and birds that breed in the area this time of the year.
This vision to connect the Cliff Path was not shared by everyone, and in February the Poole’s Bay Residents Association (PBRA) approached the courts with an urgent interdict against the Cliff Path Action Group to stop the construction of the coastal path.
It did so, stating the following reasons: invalid lease contract between Cliff Path Action Group (CPAG) and Cape Nature; validity of building plans for the new cliff path as approved by Overstrand Municipality; validity of financial guarantee and trespassing by CPAG onto private property.
According to Stassen the interdict was removed and six months of investigation followed in preparation for the case before court on 14 August.
“We are so happy the PBRA withdrew its High Court case and it is going to address only the trespassing by the CPAG on Bayview’s seaside boundary by allowing the Surveyor-General to confirm the cadastral boundary of Bayview, erf 6337,” she said. Stassen further indicated that this dispute will be resolved by registering an updated Surveyor General diagram.
“We brought a counter-application: the balustrade at Bayview blocking access along the old fishermen’s trail should be removed with immediate effect. Also, all structures without valid building plans in front of Bayview property should be removed.”
She further stated the hearing before the judge mainly revolved around the balustrade and, “in the light of the Surveyor General’s site visit, the judge will rule sometime in future on this aspect.”
Stassen said the other structures are also postponed until after determination of the high water mark and the cadastral boundary of the seaside properties. “Things have worked out well for us and the path has been approved by the state on behalf of the public. The court victory comprehen-sively brings an end to the last technical objections thrown up by PBRA and Bayview.
“The only uncertainty that will be clarified is the exact route that the path will follow at the man made structures in front of Bayview after the final determination of the legal boundary of Bayview by the Surveyor-General.”
The construction will resume on 1 February 2025 and ending 30 June 2025 as by Environmental Authorisation regulations.
