Over 200 Bradford public buildings contain asbestos

Data obtained by law firm Irwin Mitchell through the Freedom of Information Act showed 291 removals were undertaken by 20 councils across the country in the last 12 months.

Four of those were in Bradford: at The Oaks Resource Centre (Keighley), Thornton Community Centre, Peel Park Depot and Nursery, and Beckfield EPH.

Bradford Council spent around £10,100 to remove asbestos from those buildings, according to further research.

It cost neighbouring Kirklees Council £128,700 to take asbestos out of 38 properties – the fourth highest amount of removals from the local authorities that responded.

The Oaks Resource Centre, in Keighley also had to have asbestos removed (Image: Google Street View)

These included six in Batley, three in Mirfield, three in Liversedge and one in Birkenshaw. 

Asbestos is the general name given to several naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have crystallised to form fibres and it was often used as an insulation material until it was banned in all forms in 1999.

This was due to the health risks associated with inhalation exposure to the substance.

Thornton Community Centre was one of four buildings Bradford Council removed asbestos from last year (Image: Google Street View)

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We understand the concern about asbestos in buildings and we take the issue extremely seriously.

“We comply with all the relevant laws relating to asbestos and have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with it.

“We have an Asbestos Management Team at the council which provides each building under its control with an Asbestos Management Plan.

“The plan makes sure the material is checked, managed and kept in good condition so that no-one is exposed to asbestos dust or fibres in any council building.

“We also train all our operational staff and managers in asbestos awareness and before any intrusive work is done on any of our properties we carry out a refurbishment and demolition survey.

“Any local schools that contain asbestos have been given clear guidance on how to manage the material in order to protect pupils, visitors and staff.

“Although the use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, a significant amount of it remains in thousands of buildings across the UK.”

David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth and Regeneration at Kirklees Council, said: “Kirklees has a robust Asbestos Management Plan that enables schools and Council buildings which contain asbestos as part of their construction to operate safely through the careful management of known areas of the material.

“As part of our revenue and capital investment programmes, asbestos is removed if it’s likely to be disturbed during planned condition works.

“We also remove areas of damage where identified through our regular inspection programmes or where it's been identified by building users.

“We take the management of asbestos very seriously and the figures for removal demonstrate our commitment to this.”