A civic group on Friday failed to bring an immediate halt to the demolition of the old Green Point Stadium, alongside the site of Cape Town’s proposed 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium.
The Cape Town Environmental Protection Association earlier in the day filed papers asking the Cape High Court for an urgent interdict against the demolition, a substantial portion of which has already been completed.
Lawyers for the association, the city, the provincial government and Fifa’s local organising committee met a judge in chambers shortly after 2.30pm. When they emerged, attorney for the association Geoff Carter said they had agreed to discuss up a timetable for filing responding papers, with a view to possibly having the interdict heard on Monday.
”I think we all understand that the time frames were maybe a little bit unreasonable in terms of bringing the urgent interdict,” he said.
Asked whether the demolition would continue this weekend, he said: ”That’s quite correct. The applicants did ask that there would be an undertaking from the respondents that they would refrain from any further demolition, but they will not give that undertaking.”
Attorney for the City of Cape Town Brendan O’Dowd said the teams of lawyers would go back to chambers. ”We’re going to work out a timetable as to when we’re going to file opposing papers, and when they’ll have an opportunity to reply, and when the matter will be heard — some time next week.”
The urgent application follows the association’s lodging earlier this month of papers asking the court to set aside a string of council and provincial decisions that led to approval of the 68 000-seater stadium, which will cost R2,9-billion.
In the papers the association described the stadium as a ”monstrous carbuncle” on Cape Town’s skyline.
That application has not yet been heard.
The plans for the precinct around the proposed 2010 stadium call for the partial demolition of the old stadium. Planners have decided to retain the old stadium’s main grandstand for the time being.
Next to it, an area of about 5 000 square metres has already been dug out to a depth of 2m for the foundations of the new structure. — Sapa