Trinity Tower: Historic works have left landmark ‘extremely fragile’, says evacuated resident

Dave Holladay is just one of the residents living near the tower who were told to leave their homes in January, after high winds caused by Storm Malik led to fears that the storm could collapse.

Mr Holladay, who is an engineer with 50 years’ experience, warned that the campanile tower to Trinity is “not exactly stable” and cited a 2020 report about the building.

What did the report state?

A planning application was submitted in 2020, seeking permission to carry out structural repairs and alterations on the tower - at the time of the evacuation earlier this year, work was being carried out on the tower.

A report attached to the application said that: “Over the last 35 years there have been varying attempts to address the structural stresses within the tower however these have either been ineffectual or of detrimental quality.”

It also warned that there were “significant concerns” about the short to medium term structural stability of the tower.

The report notes that: “The thinner, masonry panels spanning full height between the more robust corner buttresses display a number of vertical stresses and cracks that probably evolved not long after its construction. This, coupled with alterations within the tower floor plates and poorly considered historic repairs, have now left the tower in a precarious state.

The A-listed Trinity House building was completed around 1857, before being converted into flats in the mid ‘80s.

Mr Holladay said: “It’s changed how the tower is held together. The tower now consists of piles of stones not held together that well. We’ve ended up with something that is extremely fragile.”