Service First Construction (Strategic Property Services)

This Contract Award seeks authority to appoint the professional services of a specialist Asbestos Removal Contractor to immediately undertake asbestos removal works within the basement undercroft area of Hackney Town Hall building.

Following a health and safety inspection and subsequent dust sample testing of the undercroft area recently in late August, we have identified the presence of asbestos within this area which require its removal under controlled conditions immediately followed by a clean up with sealing works to the floor, ceiling and wall in order to continue with the installation of the cabling infrastructure within this space. The cabling infrastructure will serve the Audio Visual and ICT for the Council Chambers and the Marriage Suites.

The works to the Council Chambers are on a critical path on our construction programme and is at serious at risk of not completing on time and incurring a 6 week delay. In August, the undercroft area was immediately sealed off for health and safety reasons to allow investigatory works to be undertaken by the main Contractor and LBH Health & Safety Officers. Due to this the planned cabling works have been halted for the past two weeks.

We now need to immediately appoint the preferred specialist asbestos contractor in order they may notify the HSE immediately and commence decontamination works in order to reduce the 6 weeks delay to the completion of the Council Chambers.

The asbestos industry is highly regulated whereby licensed asbestos removal contractor must notify the HSE of the planned asbestos removal 14 days in advance. This notification allows the HSE to scrutinise all licensed asbestos works and visit site to ensure the planned works are being carried out in accordance with the Asbestos Regulations 2012 and approved codes of Practice.