86 Cape Town families get back land

Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille has officially handed over land in Bishops Court to 86 claimant families valued at about R100 million.

They were forcibly removed from the prime land in the late 1960’s as a result of the Group Areas Act.

In 1995 they lodged a claim for the retrieval of the land, however, a few years later a legal battle ensued, in which some local residents essentially took the claimants to court requesting the land remain an open space.

The court ruled in the claimants favour.

Mayoral spokesperson Zara Nicholson says a service provider has been appointed to assist the claimants with community development plans for the land.