The owners of a Gonubie flea market and restaurant have been given only hours to vacate the premises from which they are operating.
This Buffalo City Metro told Debbie and Ronnie Courtney, who own the Bloo Munch Box flea market, to shut down their businesses as the property they are operating from is zoned for agricultural purposes and not commercial.
The Courtneys said their landlord gave them a letter from BCM last week as he had only received it around February 20. In the letter, dated February 9, BCM instructs them to close their Gonubie Main Road business.
The Courtneys said the land had been previously unattended, and had become a dangerous dump attracting “unwanted elements”.
“In September 2016 we decided to clean the place up and turn it into a space where families could enjoy a meal and kids could go for pony rides … as well as creating jobs,” said Debbie
Ronnie said after putting up the restaurant structure made from wood and prefabricated material, building inspectors who had approved the initial plans informed them they had to move the structure because it was built over a BCM water line.
In November 2016, the Courtneys put up a fence to secure the property, and again received permission from building inspectors.
They claim they were later informed by BCM that the fence had been erected over water mains which the municipality needed access to at any time.
In January 2017 they received an instruction to take down the fencing, as BCM wanted to erect road reserve fencing along Gonubie Main Road.
The latest instruction received by the Courtneys orders them to cease business activities by March 9.
The letter states that business activities on the site do not adhere to provisions for such use.
Debbie said they felt let down by the municipality.
“BCM knows that we’ve been building this place. We showed their site inspectors all our plans even before we began, and they gave us the go-ahead. If our place is not suitable for business, why did they not tell us in the beginning?
“There are presently nine families who benefit from this place.
“These are people who did not have jobs or any means of income, but can now feed their families.
“Where are they going to go now? What about all the money we’ve spent over the past few months fixing this place?”
A portion of the land belongs to Rencon owner Renny Schwedhelm, who has also served the couple with letters asking them to shut down, as they “are unsightly and diminishing the value of the property”.
“What they are doing is outside municipal by-laws. They are squatting and operating on property that’s not zoned for what they are doing.
“I’m not here to shut any businesses down, but they must follow the correct laws, or else East London will turn into an even bigger circus, with anyone opening a business,” said Schwedhelm.
BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said BCM would look further into the matter.
“However, it is important to highlight that BCM is against businesses running illegally or engaging in illegal business deals.” — nonsindisoq@dispatch.co.za
Gonubie market has to close
This Buffalo City Metro told Debbie and Ronnie Courtney, who own the Bloo Munch Box flea market, to shut down their businesses as the property they are operating from is zoned for agricultural purposes and not commercial.
The Courtneys said their landlord gave them a letter from BCM last week as he had only received it around February 20. In the letter, dated February 9, BCM instructs them to close their Gonubie Main Road business.
The Courtneys said the land had been previously unattended, and had become a dangerous dump attracting “unwanted elements”.
“In September 2016 we decided to clean the place up and turn it into a space where families could enjoy a meal and kids could go for pony rides … as well as creating jobs,” said Debbie
Ronnie said after putting up the restaurant structure made from wood and prefabricated material, building inspectors who had approved the initial plans informed them they had to move the structure because it was built over a BCM water line.
In November 2016, the Courtneys put up a fence to secure the property, and again received permission from building inspectors.
They claim they were later informed by BCM that the fence had been erected over water mains which the municipality needed access to at any time.
In January 2017 they received an instruction to take down the fencing, as BCM wanted to erect road reserve fencing along Gonubie Main Road.
The latest instruction received by the Courtneys orders them to cease business activities by March 9.
The letter states that business activities on the site do not adhere to provisions for such use.
Debbie said they felt let down by the municipality.
“BCM knows that we’ve been building this place. We showed their site inspectors all our plans even before we began, and they gave us the go-ahead. If our place is not suitable for business, why did they not tell us in the beginning?
“There are presently nine families who benefit from this place.
“These are people who did not have jobs or any means of income, but can now feed their families.
“Where are they going to go now? What about all the money we’ve spent over the past few months fixing this place?”
A portion of the land belongs to Rencon owner Renny Schwedhelm, who has also served the couple with letters asking them to shut down, as they “are unsightly and diminishing the value of the property”.
“What they are doing is outside municipal by-laws. They are squatting and operating on property that’s not zoned for what they are doing.
“I’m not here to shut any businesses down, but they must follow the correct laws, or else East London will turn into an even bigger circus, with anyone opening a business,” said Schwedhelm.
BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said BCM would look further into the matter.
“However, it is important to highlight that BCM is against businesses running illegally or engaging in illegal business deals.” — nonsindisoq@dispatch.co.za
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