By Alice
Baghdian, editing by Paul Casciato | Reuters – 21 hours
ago
LONDON (Reuters) - British landmark Big Ben is leaning to such an
extent that the tilt can now be clocked with the naked eye,
according to a report commissioned by London Underground and the
Parliamentary Estates Department.
The 96 meter
(yards) high clock tower of the Houses of Parliament -- known
colloquially as Big Ben, the name of the great bell it houses -- is
sinking unevenly into the ground, causing it to lean toward the
northwest.
"The tilt is now
just about visible. You can see it if you stand on Parliament
Square and look east, toward the river. I have heard tourists there
taking photographs saying 'I don't think it is quite vertical' -
and they are quite right," emeritus professor and senior research
investigator at Imperial College, London, John Burland, told the
Sunday Telegraph.
The level of the
tilt has accelerated since 2003, increasing to 0.9 mm a year,
compared to the long-term average rate of 0.65 mm a year, the
report revealed.
These levels are
not considered to be unsafe.
"If it started
greater acceleration, we would have to look at doing something but
I don't think we need to do anything for a few years yet," Burland
said.
Years of
underground developments have contributed to the clock tower's
tilt, according to the report.
This includes the
construction of an underground car park in the early 70s and an
extension of the London Underground Jubilee Line, as well as
changes in ground conditions.
The tilt has
resulted in the formation of cracks in the walls and ceilings of
parts of the House of Commons, including the Minister's Wing.
The Palace of
Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, is the site of
Britain's House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The construction
of the great clock tower was completed in 1858.
(Reporting by
Alice Baghdian, editing by Paul Casciato)
