Update
MOSSEL BAY NEWS - There is still no news on when the decision will be made about the request for the setting aside of a notice of non-compliance for a new fuel filling station in the Hartenbos area.
The owner and operator of the station want this non-compliance notice set aside so they can start operating.
The filling station is at Hart & Bosch Village.
The property is owned by Topup Property Investments and the filling station and convenience store is leased to Laley (PTY) Ltd.
The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs handed Topup a notice on 15 October last year, stating that the station was not compliant with environmental laws.
This was due to the combined storage capacity of the tanks at the station exceeding the legal limit and not having the requisite environmental authorisation from the department.
Despite orders to halt construction, department officials found in November that the construction of the station was near completion.
It is alleged by the department that the fuel station was developed unlawfully.
Attorneys for Topup requested that Western Cape Minister of Environmental Affairs, Anton Bredell, scrap the notice of non-compliance by 5 December, but he noted that a decision would be made by 17 February.
Bredell's spokesperson, Wouter Kriel, told Mossel Bay Advertiser last week that no decision had yet been made, because new information was being considered.
No new date has been given for Bredell's decision.
On Tuesday, 25 February, the Advertiser asked Kriel for an update on the situation, but he had not responded at the time of going to press.
Previous article: Hartenbos fuel station: High court rejects bid to open
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
