Root44 Market: the zoning and trading dispute

VerifiedEditor-approved CLM-5000 · August 2009 · Stellenbosch Municipality

Stellenbosch Municipality (Municipal Manager statement) states that a land-use application for a tourist facility 'presented and qualified as a wine emporium' was approved in August 2009 and implemented only in 2020.

Sources: Root 44 Market – Here are the facts (statement by Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · archived copy of Root 44 Market – Here are the facts (statement by Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler) (opens in a new tab) · details; Stellenbosch Municipality claps back against claims over Root 44 Market closure (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Stellenbosch Municipality defends planning decisions amid Root44 Market closure (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — Stellenbosch Municipality, "Root 44 Market - Here are the facts", 28 Sep 2021, para 2

Counter-evidence: The developer's statement (29 Sep 2021, paras d-e) says the 2009 approval never used the word 'emporium' and was for 'tourist facilities for wine tasting/sales, cuisine, art, tourism and administration offices of approximately 2,800 m2'. Moneyweb (9 Jun 2021) dates the approval 23 June 2009; the developer cites a council letter dated 18 August 2009. The original 2009 resolution is not among the records cited for this claim.

Official response: This is the municipality's own position (statement of 28 Sep 2021; repeated in July 2026 as reported by CapeTownEtc, 1 Jul 2026, and Cape Argus, 2 Jul 2026).

Last checked 29 October 2026

VerifiedEditor-approved CLM-5002 · August 2012 · Stellenbosch Municipality

The municipality states that in August 2012 a temporary land-use departure for a tourist facility qualified as a farmers' market (Root44 market) was granted for five years.

Sources: Root 44 Market – Here are the facts (statement by Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · archived copy of Root 44 Market – Here are the facts (statement by Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler) (opens in a new tab) · details; Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development (Jan-Jan Joubert) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Stellenbosch Municipality claps back against claims over Root 44 Market closure (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — Stellenbosch Municipality, "Root 44 Market - Here are the facts", 28 Sep 2021, para 3; Moneyweb, "Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development", 9 Jun 2021, section "Development started"

Counter-evidence: The decision record is not among the records cited for this claim; Moneyweb describes a 'five-year concession' without exact date.

Official response: None recorded yet.

Last checked 29 October 2026

VerifiedEditor-approved CLM-5003 · 2017 · Stellenbosch Municipality

Per the municipality, in 2017 the Municipal Planning Tribunal approved permanent land-use rights for the market subject to the condition that the 2009 approval be withdrawn and cancelled, citing anticipated traffic impact and risk of an 'undesirable urban node' in a rural area.

Sources: Root 44 Market – Here are the facts (statement by Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · archived copy of Root 44 Market – Here are the facts (statement by Municipal Manager Geraldine Mettler) (opens in a new tab) · details; Stellenbosch Municipality defends planning decisions amid Root44 Market closure (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Root44 closed until further notice, management blames municipal red tape (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — Stellenbosch Municipality, "Root 44 Market - Here are the facts", 28 Sep 2021, para 4

Counter-evidence: The developer says the application was lodged in 2018 as an 'Interim Approval' for the farmers' market (developer's statement, 29 Sep 2021, para f). The MPT decision record is not among the records cited for this claim, and no record cited here gives the date of the MPT decision.

Official response: Municipal position (statement of 28 Sep 2021, repeated 2026).

Last checked 29 October 2026

CorroboratedEditor-approved CLM-5006 · 4 December 2020 · Western Cape High Court

Moneyweb reported that Western Cape High Court Judge Pat Gamble granted an interdict on 4 December 2020 to stop construction work on the Root44 site, postponing the matter to May 2021.

Sources: Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development (Jan-Jan Joubert) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Court to decide fate of 'rowdy' Stellenbosch wine emporium (Bobby Jordan) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — Moneyweb, "Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development", 9 Jun 2021, section "New development"; Sunday Times, "Court to decide fate of 'rowdy' Stellenbosch wine emporium", 23 Feb 2025 ("previously obtained a court order to stop illegal building")

Counter-evidence: The court order is not among the documents cited for this claim; no case number is given, and no judgment appears on SAFLII.

Official response: None recorded yet.

Last checked 29 October 2026

VerifiedEditor-approved CLM-5007 · February 2021 · Stellenbosch Municipality

Moneyweb reported that the municipality approved new building plans in February 2021 (developer cites 21 February 2021), conditional on adherence to the 2009 land-use conditions.

Source: Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development (Jan-Jan Joubert) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — Moneyweb, "Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development", 9 Jun 2021, section "Construction resumed"

Counter-evidence: The building plan approval is not among the records cited for this claim; the developer separately cites a 23 Oct 2020 refusal letter (developer's statement, 29 Sep 2021, para k).

Official response: Spokesperson Grobbelaar quoted by Moneyweb (9 Jun 2021).

Last checked 29 October 2026

VerifiedEditor-approved CLM-5008 · 2021 · Stellenbosch Municipality

The municipality refused an occupation certificate for the Root44 building in 2021. Municipal spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar told Moneyweb (June 2021) that there were "technical aspects which were not addressed satisfactorily, including deviations from the original building plan", and that the building "will not be used in terms of the land use rights and the associated building plan as agreed upon, including the space to be used for trading". Developer Dax Hunt told Moneyweb that the refusal, "insofar as the refusal is based on 'non-compliance with conditions of approval', is unlawful". In a statement on 29 September 2021 the Daxcon Development Trust said a municipal letter of 23 September 2021 had again refused the certificate, and that it had "real concerns as to the basis upon which the occupation certificate is being refused".

Sources: ROOT 44 – THE TRUTH (statement by Dax Hunt on behalf of Daxcon Development Trust) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development (Jan-Jan Joubert) (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — Moneyweb, "Community rebellion halts 'illegal' Stellenbosch development", 9 Jun 2021, section "Hidden layer"; Daxcon Development Trust statement, "ROOT 44 - THE TRUTH", 29 Sep 2021, para 1 (letter of 23 Sep 2021)

Counter-evidence: The developer says the refusal is unlawful and the reasons inadequate (developer's statement, 29 Sep 2021, paras m-o; Hunt to Moneyweb, 9 Jun 2021). The refusal letters are not among the records cited for this claim.

Official response: Quoted by Moneyweb (9 Jun 2021).

Last checked 29 October 2026

VerifiedEditor-approved CLM-5009 · 9 December 2021 · Stellenbosch Municipality

On or about 9 December 2021 the municipality granted a partial Temporary Occupancy Certificate (s14 National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977) for the ground floor of the Root44 Wine Emporium for 6 months ending 30 June 2022, after a Memorandum of Agreement on permitted uses; permitted uses were wine-tasting, wine sales and made-to-order cuisine for on-site consumption.

Source: Root 44 developers get temporary occupation (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · archived copy of Root 44 developers get temporary occupation (opens in a new tab) · details — Stellenbosch Municipality, "Root 44 developers get temporary occupation", 9 Dec 2021, paras 1-3

Counter-evidence: Neither the MOA nor the TOC is among the records cited for this claim, and no record cited here shows a later final occupation certificate.

Official response: Municipal statement of 9 Dec 2021.

Last checked 29 October 2026

CorroboratedEditor-approved CLM-5014 · 31 July 2025 · Daxcon Development Trust

The Daxcon Development Trust put the Root44 property up for sale through a sealed-bid process run by Galetti Corporate Real Estate (registration to 31 July 2025, final offers end of August 2025); SMF News reported on 3 Sep 2026 that the property was still for sale.

Sources: Prominent Stellenbosch market up for sale (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Root44 still for sale after a year on the market (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details; Popular Root44 Market closure turns heated (original, opens in a new tab) ↗ · details — SMF News, "Prominent Stellenbosch market up for sale", 23 Jul 2025, para 1; SMF News, "Root44 still for sale after a year on the market", 3 Sep 2026, paras 1-2

Official response: None recorded yet.

Last checked 29 October 2026