TO:

The Executive Mayor - Knysna Municipality 

The Municipal Manager - Knysna Municipality

URGENT PETITION: Requesting urgent intervention from the Knysna Municipality regarding the unlawful occupation of erf numbers 3503, 1393 and 2220 adjacent to Fisherhaven, Hunters Home and Hornlee.

We, the undersigned homeowners of Hunters Home, Rexford and Fisherhaven, Pezula, Pezula Private Estate (Ward 9), hereby formally petition the Knysna Municipality to take immediate action against the illegal occupation of land located within the following erf numbers adjacent to Fisherhaven, Hornlee and Hunters Home:
Erf: 3503 (Municipality property)

Erf: 1393 (Municipality property)

Erf: 2220 (Municipality property)

Grounds for Urgent Intervention:
The unlawful occupation has resulted in the following issues which we believe constitute a threat to the public interest:

• Safety & Security: 

1.      Fire: Fires are being set to clear land on a frequent basis. Repeated emails have been sent over the course of 2025 and in 2026, to all relevant Municipal officials regarding this urgent matter. These fires present a direct risk to Fisherhaven, Hunters Home, Pezula and Hornlee homes. In the current drought conditions and with the high fuel load present of alien invasive trees, it could threaten the entire area of Knysna. This needs to be addressed urgently. 

2.      Crime: There have been several muggings of people walking along the Lindsay street to Hornlee footpath, showing a presence of criminals in the area. Crime destabilises communities and adds stress and anxiety to the surrounding communities. Allowing the land invasions and the setting of fires to continue to take place, indicates that a ‘blind eye’ is being turned by Law Enforcement and the Municipality. This then creates the impression or sends the message that unlawful actions can be pursued, which then leads to further crime and increased criminal behaviour in the area. A destabilised community wherein crime is allowed to occur creates an environment where gender-based violence, child and elderly abuse increases. In a country where these statistics are already so high, we should be doing everything we can as a town to create safe and stable communities where women, the elderly and children, are safe and can thrive. 

• Health & Sanitation: 

1.      Lack of informal infrastructure servicing the houses being erected means that the houses do not have water or sewerage systems. What has been noted throughout the Knysna informal settlement areas is that sewerage then flows onto the footpaths, posing a high health risk factor to residents. The sewerage then seeps or flows into wetlands and streams that flow into the Knysna lagoon having a knock-on environmental impact that threatens a vulnerable and precious eco-system. 

• Infrastructure: 

2.      Illegal connections to electrical power supplies, water and sewerage systems, place an already over-burdened failing infrastructure under greater pressure.

3.      The lack of formal roads in the area also poses the problem that emergency fire and rescue services are unable to enter the area to service the residents or effectively fight a fire should it spread into the surrounding homes in Hornlee.

• Economy 

1.      Areas of informal settlements adjacent to formal housing has a direct impact on the property values and investments of the formal housing owners. 

2.      Crime statistics have a direct impact on property value.

3.      Polluted environments (from sewerage and dumped waste) have a direct impact on the economic well-being of an area. 

4.      The Knysna lagoon eco-system is the basis for economic well-being in Knysna as it is the primary tourist attraction. If the wetland system fails, the tourists will stop coming to Knysna and the town will collapse financially as there is insufficient alternate economic infrastructure. The informal settlements therefore threaten not only the health of residents, but also the health of the eco-system, and the financial economy of the town.

5.      Repeated callouts to the Knysna Fire Department to put out the fires set to clear land illegally, has a direct economic impact to the fiscal budget.

• Destruction of natural environment

Erf 1393 and 2220 contain streams, wetlands and indigenous bush and riverine trees. These environments are essential for the preservation of wildlife and biodiversity. Erf 2220 needs to be protected from development and declared a nature sanctuary. 

We understand that at the base of the illegal seizure of land and building of informal housing is the issue of insufficient housing to address the needs of residents of the greater Knysna area. There is a critical lack of homes to purchase below the 2 million price point, which means that it places families or individuals, within mid-income and below, without the option to formally enter the property market. This stifles the economic development of Knysna, and it prevents redress for the economic disparity of the Apartheid era. It continues the systemic division of living zones between former ‘white’ suburbs and the townships that house the indigenous peoples, perpetuating the exclusion to suburban homes that was set up by the Apartheid Government.

Erf 1393 presents an ideal opportunity to create a plot and plan, serviced development area, as a formal extension of Hornlee, for mid-income homes and families. Allowing the spread of the informal housing to continue will prevent this solution to the housing crises from happening. Erf 1393 presents an ideal opportunity to create an integrated mid-income suburb. There are so many ways in which partnerships could be created to make this happen and for it to be a model ecological suburb.

1.      Requested Action:
In terms of Section 6 of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE Act), we request that the Municipality:
• Conduct an urgent site inspection and investigation of the specified erf areas.
• Remove any people residing in the bushes alongside Fisherhaven and Hunters Home on Erfs 3503 and 2220.

• Provide teams to clear these erfs of the rubbish which is being dumped in the bushes by ‘squatters’. 

• Create an action plan addressing the long-term use of these vacant Municipal erfs addressing environmental protection and the need for mid-income housing.

• Supply feedback to Ward 9 on the proposed next steps that the Municipality will take to ensure that the erection of illegal houses and setting of fires ceases.

We request a formal response within 21 days detailing the steps to be taken.