Land claimants battling legal challenges to move back to Bishopscourt
The 86 families were forcibly removed from the area nestled between Bishopscourt and Fernwood in Cape Town during apartheid.
CAPE TOWN - A Protea Village land claimant has spoken of the legal challenges 86 families have had to face in order to move back to their ancestral land in Bishopscourt.
The 86 families were forcibly removed from the area nestled between Bishopscourt and Fernwood in Cape Town during apartheid.
Protea Village Communal Property Association member, Barry Ellman, who is also one of the 86 land claimants, said the community's strife began with the apartheid forced removals between 1959 and 1970.
Ellman said that after the 1994 Restitution of Land Rights Act, the 86 families lodged a claim for the land in 1995.
Ten years later, an agreement between the state and the City of Cape Town led to the land being transferred to the community in September 2006.
However, since then, the Protea Village land claimants have been hit with an array of legal challenges.
"We received the land, the transfer of the title deeds, on the 15th of June 2021 but you can imagine you're dealing with a situation where you received the title deeds but in the back of your mind you're now facing legal challenges."
Ellman said that their latest legal challenge involved a High Court application from an environmental group called Friends of the Liesbeeck River, who are seeking a review of the environmental approval for the building of homes on the property.
He said the families are hoping a settlement can be reached soon.
