Three men and one woman have been arrested as a group of protesting Bo-Kaap residents, many of them elderly, attempted to block a developer's crane from entering the area and later clashed with police.

Police used stun grenades earlier on Tuesday in an attempt to disperse protesters who took to the streets to highlight ongoing gentrification in the historic neighbourhood.

A court interdict was granted in July preventing community members from doing anything perceived to be damaging to the development.

Read more: Four arrested after Bo-Kaap protesters block crane from entering area.