The Knysna Municipality has approached the High Court for an urgent interdict to address land invasions in the Greater Knysna area.
Dr Michele Gratz, acting Municipal Manager said the application follows land invasions on the Groenvallei sand dunes in Sedgefield. “The area at this stage cannot be classified as safe and stable, and in the interest of safety, we urge residents not to build on these dunes. The invasion also poses a serious risk to the integrity of this sensitive coastal landscape.”
“We ask the community to refrain from any unlawful activity and appeal to them to cooperate with the Municipality. We have no option but to enforce and uphold the law. The interdict will allow the municipality to open a case of trespassing against anyone occupying land illegally and arrest anyone trespassing on the land and prosecute them successfully”, Gratz, continued.
“To protect the assets and infrastructure of our town we are taking a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to illegal activities like these. Despite our warnings, residents continue to unlawfully invade land and rely on the Property Act (PIE Act) to legitimise their unlawful behaviour. We will no longer tolerate this. Communities must be mindful that this matter took up time and resources which could have been spent on service delivery”, Gratz concluded.
