Work starts to remove asbestos from public buildings in Norwich

£7m is being spent to make the buildings safe

Author: George Thompson, Local Democracy Reporting ServicePublished 11th Mar 2023

Workers are to start a project to remove asbestos from city council buildings – including a tower block – as part of a £7m scheme to make the properties safe.

Norwich City Council’s cabinet has agreed to spend the cash on asbestos surveys, removal and fire risk assessments over the next four years.

The first year of the project will see asbestos removed from the boiler room in City Hall, as well as floor tiles from Normandie Tower and from an unspecified area of The Halls, with £568,000 set aside for work.

In total, £1.4m will be spent on removal across the four years.

The rest of the £6,791,090 will be spent on asbestos surveys (£2.1m) and on fire risk assessments (£3.2m).

The fire risk assessment will include examining fire doors to make sure they perform to standard, as well as surveying construction materials and builders’ works.

This comes after City Hall announced it is having to replace hundreds of inadequate doors in its homes because they may not perform as required in the event of a fire.