The City of Cape Town’s parks department will remove the wild fig tree alongside the Ficus Building in Arnold Wilhelm Street, Parow.
The department’s director, Chantal Michaels, said the tree, after which the municipal building was named, had been there for more than 30 years.
“All trees are valuable, and therefore any request or decisions for its removal need to be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
“Unfortunately, the main trunk of the tree has become too big and is currently threatening damage to the palisade fence and building on the property.
“The root system of the tree is growing very vigorously and is causing damage to the underground services as well as the tarred surface”.
She said because there was no practical and cheap way to control the tree’s growth and prevent further damage to the building and infrastructure, it had been decided to remove it.
The parks department will plant two new trees in a nearby park to replace the tree, as the area between the palisade fence and the Ficus Building is too small to accommodate a tree.
The City of Cape Town’s tree maintenance policy allows for trees to be removed if they have died or threaten human life or property.