The Stellenbosch Municipality said it would appeal a decision by the Western Cape High Court, concerning the Cova Da-Iria Trust, made on the 08th of April 2025.
The Municipality initiated legal action to compel the Trust to rehabilitate the property on Bird Street, to its original state.
The Municipality also wanted the Court to direct the Trust to obtain a geotechnical investigation report, within 3 months, at its own cost, to investigate excavations done, and then determine next steps to rehabilitate.
The Trust has owned the property since 1989, and began construction in the 1990s, with an existing hole that is 10 meters deep and 30 meters in diameter.
The dispute is whether the construction was authorised, following numerous letters dating as far back as September 1997.
Judge Mangcu-Lockwood, of the Western Cape High Court, dismissed the Municipality’s application, with costs, of the postponement, of October 2024.
The Municipality said on Wednesday, “we strongly disagree with the findings of the court.”
Picture of the hole in the property: Volmoed Trust