Sheriff removes gate to give access

GEORGE NEWS - The sheriff of the court did his bit for neighbourliness on Friday by removing a gate barring a neighbour from using a road across private property on the outskirts of Blanco.

This happened after Andre Lewarne, owner of the horse riding school Rainbow Riders, succeeded with a spoliation application last week in the George Magistrate's Court. She brought the application after her neighbours, Karsten Eggers and his wife Vanessa Malvicini, denied her access to the road through their property by locking two gates at either end of it. The road leads to her riding school premises.

Lewarne, as well as other neighbours and farm workers, have apparently been using this road for years. Eggers has until 19 March to respond as to why the interdict should not be made a final order. Lewarne claims she stood to lose clients, including Carpe Diem School whose special needs learners receive equitherapy at Rainbow Riders every week.

Her clients were unhappy with the alternative access to her school, a rocky road with a steep incline. Carpe Diem refused to send its learners in the school's minibus for fear of damage to the vehicle and the children's safety.

According to Lewarne's application, her entrance through the two gates has never been restricted since she started using the road in 2005. She was given the security code to one of the gates (a black one) and the other one, a silver gate, always remained open.

However, on 4 January this year, when she drove to her riding school, Eggers denied her access through the electronic black gate. The gate code had been changed.

In response to a letter from Lewarne's attorney, Eggers acceded and provided the new code to the gate. However, the silver gate on the other end of the road was often locked and Lewarne was unable to open it without assistance.

Lewarne then instructed her attorney to launch a spoliation application, but before it could be issued, Eggers obtained an urgent court order prohibiting Lewarne, among others, from using the road. This action prevented Lewarne from going ahead with the spoliation application. The lock combinations on both gates were changed and she could not open the gates at all.

The other respondents in Eggers's application included Michelle and Elardus Behrens, neighbours along the eastern boundary of his property. The order prohibited them from damaging the gates, following incidents where the locks had been cut with a bolt cutter, attempts of unearthing the support posts of the black gate, and cutting a fence next to the silver gate.

This court order was suspended in part by the court after being opposed by the Behrenses. The prohibition to damaging the gates was upheld, but Eggers's prohibition of access to his neighbours was lifted.

However, entrance remained impossible and Lewarne finally resorted to a spoliation application.The lock on the silver gate where access is gained to the road over Karsten Eggers' property.

The sheriff removed only the silver gate, and Eggers had to provide Lewarne with the electronic code of the black gate. According to Lewarne's application, other neighbours also use the road, as do farm workers and horse riders.

Eggers's reason for not granting access is that Lewarne has a separate, direct entrance road to her premises. He also disputes neighbours' claims that the road over his property, portion 34 of the farm Houtbosch 212 (acquired in 2016), is a public servitude road.

He told the newspaper that the court order means Lewarne is the only person in the area with two access roads. "Although I have not yet seen her affidavit, I am 99% sure we will squash this interim order and it will not become final," he said.

"This order does not really help Ms Lewarne, as it applies to her only, not to her clients or anybody else. So her clients still have to use the legal western road - not our road - to her place, unless, of course, she personally comes to our gate to let them through."

This gate opens electronically with a code that the court ordered should be made available to Andre Lewarne.