The future of Root 44 Market has been thrown into uncertainty after its operators announced that it will close until further notice.
Stellenbosch Municipality has responded by disputing claims that it was responsible for the closure, pointing instead to planning decisions dating back to 2009.
In a statement shared on social media on Tuesday, June 30, the Root 44 team said the decision “has not been made lightly”, adding that jobs have been lost, dreams affected, and many families will feel the impact.
The market also claimed it had received “no support from the Stellenbosch Municipality during this difficult time.”
The municipality has since issued a detailed response, saying several public statements surrounding the closure "do not accurately reflect the planning history or the decisions taken by the Municipality".
According to the municipality, a land use application for a wine emporium on the property was approved in 2009 as a tourism destination showcasing Cape Winelands wines, related products, and cuisine. While those rights were only implemented in 2020, they remained valid.
They stated that in 2012, the municipality approved a temporary five-year departure allowing the Root 44 Market to operate as a farmers' market.
Five years later, the Municipal Planning Tribunal approved an application for a permanent market, subject to one condition: that the existing approval for the wine emporium be withdrawn.
The municipality said planning assessments found the two developments could not operate simultaneously because of the potential traffic impacts and the risk of transforming the rural property into a large commercial shopping destination.
It said the developer appealed the decision, but the appeal authority upheld the condition.
"The developer had a choice. The developer could either proceed with the permanent Root 44 Market by simply withdrawing the 2009 wine emporium approval, or retain only the wine emporium approval," the municipality said.
According to the municipality, the developer chose to retain the wine emporium approval, meaning the permanent Root 44 Market approval could not be implemented.
"The owner chose this path," the municipality said, adding that it "rejects suggestions that it refused or prevented the establishment of a permanent Root 44 Market."
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