Preparations have started for the demolition of a Southampton university tower which has been part of the city’s skyline since the 1960s.

Works on the site of the University of Southampton's Faraday Tower started on Monday.

The tower, which once house the engineering department, has been known for its unusual design, with narrow foundations stemming into a wider bulk.

The university was granted approval to demolish the building in January 2021 but preparatory work has only just begun.

READ MORE: Faraday Tower to be demolished by Southampton university

A spokesperson for the University of Southampton said the demolition is scheduled to start next summer.

The preparatory works involve disconnecting the building’s electricity substation and some trees have been removed in accordance with council policies.

Replanting will be considered as part of the next phase of development. 

The building, built between 1960 and 1963, was the creation of Basil Spence, who had been tasked the previous decade with creating a master plan for the Highfield Campus and all the major buildings of this period were designed by him.

Towards the end of the 1960s Southampton had the "first professional standard clean room in any university in the country", enabling it to process silicon technology and devices, according to University of Southampton Special Collections.