Neighbours slug it out

01 August 2014 - 02:06 By Philani Nombembe
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ON THE WARPATH: Christine Phillips walks past the house of her neighbour David Bradbury, whom she accuses of flouting building regulations and devaluing her property
ON THE WARPATH: Christine Phillips walks past the house of her neighbour David Bradbury, whom she accuses of flouting building regulations and devaluing her property

Christine Phillips and David Bradbury are neighbours who don't like each other much.

In fact, these residents of Camps Bay - one of Cape Town's plush seaside suburbs - have resorted to communicating via legal papers.

Phillips, a filmmaker, has approached the high court to compel Bradbury to demolish his home or rectify the parts that do not comply with what she says were the original plans.

She claims Bradbury, a businessman, bought a bungalow next to her home three years ago, then flouted building regulations to an extent that her property was devalued - possibly by R3-million.

He built a pool, which was not part of the plan shown to other residents and later to the municipality, she says in court papers.

Later, a top-floor deck emerged.

The deck upsets Phillips because she feels her privacy will be violated as anyone standing on it can see into her home.

"The roof of the garage was being constructed as a trafficable deck, which would result in Bradbury and any other residents or visitors to his dwelling being able to virtually stand on my boundary at a point almost 2.5m higher than my property and have full view into my entertainment and pool area.

"This is one of the primary elements of prejudice, which I sought to prevent by way of the agreement . " she says.

Phillips claims that when Bradbury bought the bungalow with a plan to extend it, he undertook to build a single-storey house, but went on to erect a double-storey structure.

"He has moved his whole house towards mine and the house has become longer and it got a swimming pool, which is non-zoning compliant, and a deck on the roof, which is also non-zoning compliant," she says.

She took Bradbury and the City of Cape Town to court last year.

They are waiting for a court date for the matter to be heard.

Bradbury is opposing the application, rejecting in court papers what he terms "exaggerated accusations".

He says Phillips could have raised the complaint earlier instead of waiting for the house to be completed

"I deny that the agreement bound me to redevelop my house strictly in accordance with the agreement plans in every detail," he says in court papers.

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