Ruling halts construction of controversial Morningside building

A DURBAN High Court acting judge has ordered that the eThekwini Municipality’s approval of plans for the erection of a building currently under construction in Morningside, be reviewed and set aside.

- NADIA KHAN

According to the judgment handed down last Friday, the applicants, Fiona Hansa, Sameera Anmed Hansa, Ahmed Mahomed Hansa and Sayed Ahmed Ebrahim Fakroodeen, said the building in Mentone Road contravened the municipality's town planning controls and was unlawful.

The applicants are trustees of the 648 Musgrave Trust, which owns a property situated on Innes Road, Morningside. Mentone and Innes roads run parallel to each other.

The respondents in the matter are the municipality and the trustees of the MLM Family Trust - Mohamed Iqbal Malek, Maseeha Noor Mahomed, Muhammad Noor Mahomed, Naeema Noor Mahomed and Richard Bruce Donachie.

They are constructing the building on Mentone Road.

According to the court papers, until 2022, the erstwhile (and now demolished) double-storey dwelling that was built on the Mentone Road property was of reasonable height and was set back some distance from the common boundary.

It read that the applicants’ property effectively had complete privacy from the old Mentone Road property and even if people approached the common boundary wall, their view of the entertainment area, front lawn and swimming pool was shielded by the single-storey dwelling.

According to the court papers, in April 2022, Ahmed Mahomed Hansa (third applicant) noticed extensive building works commencing at the Mentone Road property, starting with the demolition of the existing dwelling.

“Gradually, the third applicant became concerned that a three-storey building was being built on the property. A representative of the MLM Family Trust, Abdul Noor Mohamed, declined to provide the third applicant with the approved building plans, and requests to the municipality were equally unsuccessful in this regard,” it read.