Leaning wall of Milton Manor no more: City confirms removal of problematic tree after long wait

For more than a year, residents of Milton Manor in Sea Point have been locked in a frustrating battle with a tree whose invasive roots were not only damaging their boundary wall, paving and building foundations, but also threatening their safety. 

Some units in the block, located at 2 Milton Road and boasting spectacular views of the Atlantic and Table Mountain, are worth more than R3 million. And yet, this long-standing issue was growing increasingly urgent.

The tree, which stood on City property just outside the building, had sent its roots deep into the structure. One elderly resident had to rearrange her furniture to keep it from being damaged. The wall was visibly leaning, the paving was lifting, and the building manager, Billy Ackerman, had even nicknamed the boundary “the Leaning Wall of Milton Manor.”

“We’ve been passed from one department to another, and no one is giving us any answers,” Ackerman said at the time. “It’s been dragging on for so long, and winter’s approaching. The wall is leaning more every day.”

But now, after months of emails, phone calls, photographs, complaints — and a fair share of public frustration — there’s finally been a breakthrough.

Following recent media attention on the issue, the City of Cape Town has confirmed that the problematic tree at Milton Manor has been removed. According to a statement issued by the City’s Recreation and Parks Department, the removal work was successfully concluded, and the clearing of the remaining stumps took place on Tuesday, 14 May 2025.

The City also confirmed that the job incurred no direct cost, as it was completed using internal resources — a point that may offer some relief to residents who feared the process would be too expensive or complicated to resolve.

Property manager Marion Koegelenberg, from S. Kempen Property Management, who has been speaking on behalf of the trustees throughout the ordeal, previously expressed how the issue had worn residents down over time. 

Ward councillor Nicola Jowell said she had been aware of the issue for some time and had been in regular communication with residents and the management agency.

She acknowledged that the case had appeared consistently on their monthly tracking list with the Parks Department.

Part of the delay, Jowell explained, was due to the City’s lack of a continuous tree maintenance tender — a gap that hampered their ability to respond to such cases promptly. She also noted that decisions to remove trees are not taken lightly, requiring assessments from the City’s arborist and, often, road closures to ensure the work can be carried out safely.

Now that the trees have finally been removed, the mood among residents has shifted dramatically. The building is no longer hidden behind overgrowth, and there’s a renewed sense of pride in the space.

“It took a while to have the two problem trees removed — two years plus — but the City did come to the party,” said Ackerman following the work. 

“99.9% of all the owners at Milton Manor are over the moon with the tree removal. The building also looks much better, not hiding behind those trees anymore.”

He also expressed gratitude for the role that media coverage played in bringing the issue to a head. “Thanks for your powerful article in the newspaper — it got them going.”

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus