Harare and developer agree in court to halt Borrowdale wetland construction
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The City of Harare and developer Everson Loony undertook in the High Court on Friday to stop all work on a 21-unit low-density scheme on the Borrowdale West wetland until a legal challenge to its environmental approval is determined.
The City of Harare and developer Everson Loony made an undertaking in court on Friday to suspend all construction on the Borrowdale West wetland until the matter is determined, following an urgent application by conservation group BirdLife Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Human Rights, Environmental and Social Justice Trust, NewZimbabwe.com reported.
The applicants, represented by human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa together with BirdLife Zimbabwe and Doug Coltart, are challenging development on the gazetted and legally protected wetland on the grounds that continued building threatens a natural water system serving the capital. Speaking outside court, Coltart said the parties had agreed timelines for the exchange of pleadings, with the application for an interdict scheduled for hearing on December 7.
The dispute concerns a proposed development of 21 low-density residential units, access roads, parking facilities and associated infrastructure on the wetland between Chatsworth Road and Twickenham Road. The City of Harare was granted Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate Licence No. L10000178245 on March 10, 2026 for the project, known as Remainder of Salisbury Township Lands Low Density Infill.
The applicants argue that the environmental clearance does not override the wetland's separate legal protection as a gazetted ecologically sensitive area, and they lodged an appeal with the Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister on October 23. In her founding affidavit, Mtetwa said she visited the site on October 29 and found that work was still under way. The applicants further allege that some construction has extended beyond the 5.06-hectare area covered by the EIA certificate, and question whether the council obtained separate written authorisation required under Section 113 of the Environmental Management Act for development on a gazetted wetland.
An ecological assessment by expert Dr Cunliffe, filed in support of the application, found that virtually the entire proposed site falls within the protected ecological area. The wetland forms part of the Gwebi River headwater system and the Upper Manyame catchment, which drains into Lake Manyame, one of Harare's major water sources. Cunliffe warned that construction could destroy the wetland's capacity to absorb rainfall and replenish groundwater while raising the risk of flooding, soil erosion and water contamination, and recommended relocating the housing project outside the gazetted area and its drainage buffers. The applicants also rely on Zimbabwe's National Human Settlements Policy, which states that no infrastructure development is permissible on wetlands and provides for a 30-metre development-free buffer.
The December 7 hearing will focus on whether the court should grant an interdict maintaining the suspension of construction pending the minister's determination of the appeal against the EIA certificate.