Old school asbestos clear-up to cost council more than £2.5m (original) (raw)

However, executive committee councillors heard there were significant costs attached to asbestos removal at two of the sites.

John Curry, assets and infrastructure director, said: "It was only after these intrusive surveys were carried out that extensive asbestos was found in the buildings.

"They also identified the difficulties involved in its removal.

"The sum was well above what we had forecast in the capital plan in terms of estimates for asbestos and that's largely because when you do asbestos removal, and when you're costing that, you need to go with the information you've got."

He said detailed checks tended to only be carried out once a building was empty due to the risks of contamination.

Deputy council leader Scott Hamilton added: "Record keeping with many of these old buildings isn't what we would expect today and we often get surprises when we strip back the outer shells.

"The priority always when dealing with something like asbestos is to carry out the work as safely and appropriately as we can, and that comes at a cost."