Residents near Glasgow's Trinity Tower fear evacuation could last months

People living near a landmark tower in Glasgow fear they could be out of their homes for months, after being evacuated at the weekend over safety fears.

On Saturday, an exclusion zone was set up around the Trinity building in the Park Circus area of the west end.

Glasgow City Council warned the tower's "structural deterioration" had worsened in high winds during Storm Malik.

Residents in the area say they have yet to be told how long it will be until the tower is made safe.

On Monday, the council said there was not yet a timescale for when residents would be able to return home.

It has not been determined how much work needs to be carried out on the tower.

Contractors who had begun repair work on the tower earlier this month contacted the council after high winds on 29 January worsened the condition of the building.

It was decided that the area had to be evacuated for the safety of the public.

The landmark tower is a well-known feature of the Glasgow skyline

Residents who needed emergency accommodation were put up in hotels.

The council said 26 properties were within the cordon.

Over the weekend, 98 residents attended a rest centre at Kelvin Hall.

But one local resident told BBC Scotland he believed that between 60 and 100 households were still out of their homes.

Residents expect 'months' away from home

Another resident said he expected to be out of his home for "months".

Keith McIvor, a DJ whose home is within the area that has been evacuated, is staying with a friend - but said this was only a short-term solution.

He said that in the longer term, he would have to either rely on the council to find him another place to stay or he would have to rent somewhere himself.

But he added that renting was not an affordable option as his insurers had told him this would not be covered by his policy - because the building he lives in has not been damaged.

"It's a bit of a nightmare," he said.

A cordon has been set up around the tower in Glasgow amid concerns for its safety

His DJ studio is inside his home, so his business will be affected by the evacuation too.

On Saturday he left his home to see his street had been taped off, and was being guarded by a policewoman.

He was allowed back in to collect a few belongings and was able to briefly gain access again on Sunday, before high winds made the situation more dangerous.

Mr McIvor said the communications with residents was "terrible to begin with".

Trinity Tower is part of building which for more than a century was a theological college for church ministers.

Free Church College was built in the 1850s and renamed Trinity College in 1930.

The site, at Woodland Hill, is said to have been eyed up as a possible site for the new Glasgow University building, but the church secured it first.

Architect Charles Wilson won a competition to design the building with his vision of an Italian-inspired campanile. One of the rules was that the winner be a member of the Free Kirk.

The church vacated the building in 1976 and 10 years later it reopened as apartments.

'Nobody can tell me anything'

One resident of Lynedoch Place, who asked not to be named, said he estimated that between 60 and 100 households were within the exclusion zone.

He has been moved around several different hotels since he was evacuated from his flat on Saturday, but said communication from the council had been poor.

Initially, he was told his dogs could stay with him. But when he arrived at the first hotel they had no idea he was coming. And then he was told his pets were not allowed.

After arranging for someone to look after the dogs overnight, the next day he was moved to a different hotel - and was again told his dogs were not welcome.

He has now booked his own accommodation which will allow him to keep his dogs with him.

He said residents were not given a promised update on Monday.

"Nobody can tell me anything," he said. "I don't know what's happening."