Cladding falls from the Holloway Circus tower

Pieces of cladding have fallen from the new tower being built at 10 Holloway Circus in Birmingham city centre, raising fears for the safety of pedestrians and drivers below.

Five panels became detached from the higher levels on the sides of the tower on 24 November and fell to the ground. No one is reported to have been hurt.

Roads closed

Engineers are inspecting the tower to find out what went wrong and to make sure no more panels are at risk. The building stands above some of the busiest roads and pavements in the city centre, around Holloway Circus, the Horsefair and Smallbrook Queensway.

The developer, Beetham Organisation, and the builder, Laing O'Rourke, will need to establish the cause and show that the remaining panels are secure. The city will expect the building to be made safe before the hotel and flats open.

The city's new landmark

The tower is one of the most eye-catching new buildings in the city. At 122 metres tall, with 39 floors, it will be the tallest building in Birmingham apart from the BT Tower when it is finished. It reached its full height in April.

The building was designed by the architect Ian Simpson and will contain a Radisson hotel on the lower floors, with 158 apartments above. The hotel is due to open early next year, and many of the flats have already been sold.

The front of the tower is covered in floor-to-ceiling glass, with vertical stripes designed to emphasise its height. The sides are clad in panels, some of which came loose this week.

A troubled history

The project has had its share of difficulties. Plans for a tower on the site were first put forward in 1998, and the original design, for a taller tower with spires on top, had to be scaled back after aviation authorities tightened height limits.

The final plans were approved in April 2003, and construction began soon afterwards on the site of the old AEU Building.

Safety concerns

The incident is likely to raise wider questions about the safety of tall buildings in the city, where several new towers are planned. Thousands of people walk past the tower every day on their way to work or to the shops, and a panel falling from that height could have caused serious harm.

The hope now is that the problem can be fixed quickly, without delaying the opening of the hotel.

The AEU Building, which stood on the site until it was cleared for the tower, was an office block designed by John Madin's practice and completed in 1957. Its loss was regretted by some fans of post-war architecture, but most people in the city have welcomed the new tower as a sign of Birmingham's ambition.