VIDEO: BCM orders work to cease at hotel, mall project

Work at the Beacon Bay Crossing hotel and mall has been ordered to stop because there are has no Buffalo City Metro-approved building plans.

The metro has prepared papers and is gearing up to ask the high court to order developer SKG to halt work and submit plans.

A small section of cement flooring collapsed at the end of July. Work at the site near Nompumelelo township was still under way yesterday.

SKG owner Jean du Plessis and SKG Group’s Gavin Crisswell were said to be in a “board meeting” and did not reply to two e-mails or return calls requesting their comment.

SKG also declined to comment when the section of floor collapsed.

On Tuesday, the BCM city council heard of repeated attempts by DA councillor Sue Bentley to get an answer from BCM officials on when SKG’s notice giving it 30 days to stop work had lapsed.

Bentley said the only reply she received from the director of planning and economic development, Nonceba Mbali-Majeng, was that the matter would be discussed at a future council meeting.

In his report before council on the “illegal building works on farm 817/2 Beacon Bay”, acting municipal manager Bob Naidoo had inserted his written replies to Bentley’s “motion regarding building under construction which collapsed after heavy rain”. He said: q“There was no routine inspection by BCM building control officials due to the building plans having been not submitted to the municipality for approval.

“However, the inspection that was carried was to serve the notice to cease the builders from proceeding with the illegal work.”

Naidoo said the causes of the collapse were unknown to BCM. “The owner proceeded with building despite the notice served instructing the builder to stop the illegal building work. The 30-day period lapsed without the building having complied with the notice served.”

In another turn at Tuesday’s council meeting, Naidoo was removed as acting municipal manager and chief financial officer Vincent Pillay was appointed to act in the post. — mikel@dispatch.co.za