The Right to a View.

When first confronted by the facts of the case in The Municipality of the City of Cape Town v Reader and Others, one is tempted to think that it is yet another judgment dealing with the notorious question of whether property owners have a ‘right to a view’. This is especially true as the facts bear a striking similarity to earlier judgments that have dealt with this issue. This judgment, however, stops short of deciding whether the applicants are in fact entitled to ‘a view’. It deals rather with the question of whether the appeal procedures set out in section 62 of the Municipal Systems Act afford interested third parties (very often neighbours) affected by the planning decisions of a municipality an adequate platform from which to appeal those decisions.