A routine boundary wall replacement at Greeba Towers on the A1 has spiralled into a full‑blown infrastructure fiasco. It culminated yesterday in the felling of an oak tree believed to be around 170‑years‑old and the emergency closure of the Isle of Man’s busiest cross‑island route.
Manx.News has reviewed documents, emails and phone records at the scene that paint a disturbing picture of bureaucratic obstruction inside the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.
Belligerent and Unmovable
A Health and Safety Inspectorate officer, described by witnesses as belligerent and unmovable, over the past week had ordered an immediate stop to works on a new retaining wall along the A1 between Douglas and Peel.
The owner of Greeba Towers had already removed a substantial section of the old wall and begun installing a reinforced breeze‑block retaining structure to be faced with Manx stone. A structural engineer warned that halting the job at that stage would leave the bank dangerously exposed. The risk was clear to anyone, let alone a civil engineer, that the embankment could collapse, taking with it several mature trees including a historic oak believed to be around 170 years old.
Danger To Life
Despite repeated interventions from officials across government, including staff within DEFA itself, urging that the wall be completed to stabilise the bank, the inspector refused to lift the prohibition notice. Her refusal left the bank in a critical state, with the engineer warning that the oak was now likely to fall directly into the carriageway, posing a serious danger to life.
Chaos On The Roads – Foxdale Gridlock
At lunchtime yesterday, authorities ordered an emergency closure of the A1 to allow contractors to cut down the oak before it toppled into live traffic. The closure, initially expected to last until 5pm, was extended to nearly 7pm as crews rushed to safely remove the tree. Traffic through Foxdale and Archallagan descended into gridlock, with long tailbacks and widespread disruption. Commuters were experiencing a usual ten minute journey taking over an hour.
This was a preventable incident with tree surgeons agreeing that the tree was not at risk had the retaining wall been completed as planned. The owner of Greeba Towers told Manx.News that he was aghast at the decision and disappointed such an historic tree had to be felled due to the Health & Safety inspector refusing to accept professional advice from civil engineers and arborists. Manx.News understands that other agencies had also backed plans for the wall to be completed.
Escalation To The Top Still Didn’t Resolve
Correspondence seen by Manx.News suggests the issue escalated all the way to Chief Executive of the Civil Service Mark Lewin, yet no resolution was reached in time. The inspector would not back down, and the wall remained unfinished.
The result: the unnecessary destruction of one of the island’s oldest trees, a specimen older in age in age to the famous Sycamore Gap; and a day of traffic chaos for thousands of commuters. This all down to the decision of one public servant who dug her heels in over the matter.
Questions are being asked how one inspector, acting against engineering advice and departmental consensus, was able to force a chain of events that ended with the loss of a historic tree and a major road closure.
Manx.News investigation in to the decision‑making behind this incident will continue, including why urgent warnings were ignored and why no senior intervention prevented yesterday’s outcome. DEFA has been approached for comment.
