Springbok rugby hero Kobus Wiese is one of several homeowners at an exclusive golfing estate who have been accused of extending their property illegally onto state land.
Wiese's sea-facing home at Shelley Point on the West Coast has a stunning wooden deck which stretches beyond his boundary onto pristine dunes.
The Shelley Point Home Owners' Association said Wiese was one of many residents who had extended their property. Some people have increased the size of their lawns and gardens while some, such as Wiese, had built decks.
The land is admiralty reserve, state-owned land above the high-water mark. It falls under the department of public works, but is likely to be taken over by Marine and Coastal Management in terms of the Integrated Coastal Management Bill.
Shelley Point, 20 minutes from Vredenburg, has two entrances with boom gates and has a country club and spa. One resident said the estate was the "West Coast at its best".
Wiese's house is built on what residents refer to as the "Golden Mile" because it has beautiful views and is metres from the shore.
Last week Weekend Argus reported on a Bakoven resident who had extended his fence on to city land and now has to apply to lease the land at a market-related price.
Wiese, who was on the winning rugby World Cup squad in 1995, is a rugby TV commentator and a motivational speaker.
He denied his deck was illegally built, saying he had had the necessary authority to build it, but he refused to say who had given him permission.
Wiese said all the houses facing the sea had land in front of their homes.
In fact, all have a 3m strip in front of the houses, but several have extended beyond the 3m.
One of the residents of the exclusive estate, who asked not to be named, said the residents had complained to Cape Nature about the encroachments on the beach but it was not that body's responsibility to police the strip of land.
"The deck he (Wiese) has built is twice the size of a large patio. It is magnificent, but illegal," she said.
Klaus Psotta, a trustee in the home-owners' association, said it had tried to discourage residents from extending their properties illegally but "people are ignoring us".
The strip of land belongs to the department of public works but when and if the Integrated Coastal Management Bill is enacted, Marine and Coastal Management will become the custodians.
It has already mapped most of the coastline using geographic information systems to identify illegally built structures.
Dr Niel Malan, MCM's deputy director for coastal planning and environmental protection, said the government was "actively involved in removing structures and the Integrated Coastal Management Bill, if signed off by the president, will further strengthen our position."
Malan said the land Shelley Point residents had appropriated was admiralty reserve.
The bill will allow people to lease the land at market-related prices for 20 years but if they want a longer lease, the National Assembly will have to be consulted.
An MEC or the minister of environmental affairs and tourism will also have the authority to instruct offenders to repair or remove the offending structures.
"If they don't we will remove it and send the offender the account," Malan said.
MCM has already started procedures against people who have erected structures at Trekboskraal, close to Shelley Point.
Malan said the bill had been passed by both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces and was on its way to President Kgalema Motlanthe for his consideration.
If the bill is enacted, all coastal public property will be held in trust by the MCM.