The government has ordered the demolition of over 50 holiday bungalows in a quaint settlement on the Fish River Mouth.
The government has ordered the demolition of over 50 holiday bungalows in a quaint settlement on the Fish River Mouth.
The bungalows are located across from the Fish River Sun Hotel and have been owned by holiday-goers since the 1950s.
Negotiations between the homeowners and the Eastern Cape Department of Public Works for the renewal of leases were at an advanced stage last year before the demolition order was issued.
According to Legalbrief.co.za, a news site focused on stories regarding the law, the government denied the homeowners their leases because of the settlement's location within a nature reserve.
“The existence of a residential development within a proclaimed nature reserve is not compatible with the conservation objectives of such a nature reserve,” the order stated.
Homeowners, however, claim that the Fish River Mouth was only officially declared a nature reserve in 1988, more than three decades after the bungalows were built.
According to the Sunday Times the homeowners themselves discovered that the land in fact belonged to the government and were the first to inform them.
“We did the research and found the Provincial Gazette notice with the ownership information. Now they want to take it away,” a homeowner was reported saying. Homeowners said they were willing to fight the municipality and have sought legal advice.
