Construction of the Chapman's Peak Toll Plaza would be completed by the end of June despite a residual court challenge, Western Cape Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle told Tourism Update.
The residual court challenge refers to an application lodged by Judith Sole, party leader of the Green Party of SA, against toll concessionaire Entilini. In an affidavit, Sole acknowledged concerns about the damage the construction would cause to the fynbos in the area, but the main concern of the application was that an “extremely dangerous precedent” was being set.
Carlisle said the court was likely to make a ruling on the case in April or May this year. He said, although he couldn’t make any predictions as to the outcome, the court findings on the previous case undertaken by the Hout Bay Residents Association (HBRA) were very specific. The HBRA applied for an interdict to halt the construction of the Toll Plaza in June last year. The charges were dismissed with the court finding that residents had exaggerated the extent of the potential threat to the protected area. “Much ado about nothing,” the judge concluded.
According to Carlisle, the new toll plaza is a small and attractive building that reflects the natural beauty of the National Park to which it offers an entry. “Tourists will surely appreciate the new building, which fits in much better with the surroundings,” he said. Carlisle added that, besides its attractiveness, the toll building would also offer a quick, efficient and safe toll plaza compared with the current building. “It will allow us to manage safety operations much better,” he said, explaining that the new building would offer much better communication facilities as well as more space to set up a Joint Operations Centre in case of a major emergency.
