The City of Cape Town has put the brakes on a proposal from a local artist who wanted to decorate the Athlone cooling towers.

Michael Elion had proposed the decommissioned towers be covered with giant vinyl South African flags while the city debated what to do with them.

The city said the plan was not feasible as it would put the structures at risk.

Councillor Brian Watkyns said the towers were very thin and might not be able to withstand the weight of the vinyl flags.

He added that advertising on the towers was also not an option.

"Our big problem up to now is that most of the applications have been in terms of advertising, which is actually prohibited in terms of the city's' by-laws. We can't go against the by-laws without changing them, which would be too late for (next year's) soccer world cup. A lot of the applications were around the tournament," said Watkyns.