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Koeberg housing project may spark legal row
Iol - South Africa
A Cape High Court battle is looming about a proposed private development within a 5km radius of the Koeberg nuclear power station.

This comes after the City of Cape Town refused a rezoning application by the developers on the 250ha site, citing health risks raised by the national nuclear regulator.

The issue came up during a spatial planning, environmental and land use management committee meeting at the Civic Centre on Wednesday.

The matter has now been referred to the provincial environmental affairs and development planning department for a decision.
Iol.co.za

Housing subsidies top 2.4m
Fin24.co.za - South Africa
According to the Department of Housing a total of 167 162 subsidies for housing were approved by provincial housing departments during the 2003/04 financial year, the auditor general Shauket Fakie reports.

This brings the total number of subsidies approved by departments since 1994 to 2.4m - or 2 436 404 subsidies.

The report of the auditor general on the findings identified during a performance audit of the approval and allocation of housing subsidies at provincial housing departments noted that approvals of any one year "will result in houses being completed in subsequent years as projects can take between 18 and 24 months to reach completion".
Fin24.co.za

PA BetterBond boss quits
Fin24.co.za - South Africa
Real estate industry pioneer Jan le Roux has announced his resignation as Chief Executive Office of the PA Group after 23 years service with the real estate services group.

He is to be succeeded by colleague Rudi Botha and current CEO of the group's mortgage origination company, BetterBond. Botha joined the group with the merging of PA Homeloans and BetterBond under the single brand of PA BetterBond in July 2003. PA BetterBond recently re-branded under the name of BetterBond.

Le Roux's announcement in Johannesburg on Tuesday, which makes clear his intention to "pursue long-held personal dreams", although it is expected he will continue as executive chairperson of the group, brings the curtain down on arguably the real estate industry's most successful entrepreneur.
Fin24.co.za

Compensation stopped
The Mercury - South Africa
A Durban High Court judge stopped payment to hundreds of land claimants yesterday after hearing allegations that they were fraudulent and some had been lodged by employees or relatives of employees of the Land Claims Commission in KwaZulu-Natal.

In an urgent application before Judge Pete Combrinck, the Hlanganani Newlands Residents' Association secured an interdict against the commission, preventing it from paying out any more land claims in the Newlands area.

The claims commission will now have to satisfy the court that the claims are legitimate before it can continue making payments.

In an affidavit, the Chairman of the Hlanganani Newlands Residents' Association, Samukelisiwe Mkhize, said that as far back as 1995 people who lived in the Newlands area between 1960 and 1969, and who had been evicted under apartheid legislation, had begun registering their rights to restitution.
The Mercury

Mortgages slow for fourth month
Business.iafrica.com - South Africa
Year-on-year growth in mortgage advances slowed for the fourth consecutive month in January, probably indicating that mortgage advances growth has peaked for the time being, and will be on a downward trend during 2006, according to First National Bank (FNB) property economist John Loos.

The total value of mortgage advances outstanding grew at a slightly slower rate of 27.4 percent year-on-year in January compared with 27.6 percent year-on-year in December 2005, 27.6 percent year-on-year in November, 27.8 percent year-on-year in October and the cyclical peak of 28.8 percent year-on-year in September.
Business.iafrica.com