Herbrandston asbestos scare

From the archive, first published Thursday 19th Jan 2006.

AN ASBESTOS scare has a put a stop to re-development work in the middle of Herbrandston village.

It took just a day to demolish the old Sir Benfro Hotel, sparking fear among residents that proper procedures for the removal of asbestos were not followed.

Public Protection officers from the county council inspected the site and found asbestos in the rubble. Samples were taken and have been sent for analysis.

The contractors have been instructed to stop work and take steps to prevent the airborne spread of asbestos fibres.

Reg Owens, chairman of the community council, said: "There was strong concern in the village and a lot of strongly voiced opinions.

"On the day it was knocked down, it was a nice day with a bit of a breeze so there was dust flying everywhere. That dust is not necessarily asbestos of course, but there was a lot of asbestos in that building. The whole back of the building was asbestos sheeting, and there were two outbuildings with asbestos roofs.

"It would be wrong for us to say they didn't do it properly because we're not experts but obviously, the public protection people are concerned because they didn't just say everything was OK, they put a stop to it. "Just the fact that the hotel has been demolished is a sad scenario. It was a fine place in a lovely setting, and a sad loss to the town."

A council spokesman said that an inspection of the site found "evidence of the demolition of a sheet-asbestos outbuilding and the possibility of asbestos tiles within the rubble."

The spokesman went on: "The officer contacted the Health & Safety Executive and the Environment Agency to inform them of the situation so that they could instigate appropriate action.

"The contractor was contacted and following advice from the county council's asbestos specialist, the contractor was required to: cover all asbestos with sheeting where practicable. The contractor has covered the demolished outbuilding with sheeting. keep all areas of the site damp. The frequency of dampening down is dependent on weather conditions secure the site to prevent public access. The contractor has erected barriers around the site and visits daily.

"Samples from the site have been sent to an accredited laboratory for analysis. These results will take approximately 14 days and the actions of the various agencies will be dependent on the results of the analysis.

"The council's public protection division will continue to inspect the site and liase with the appropriate authorities where required."

The Sir Benfro site is owned by Ammanford-based Max Thomas Developments, which applied for permission to build 15 houses on the land last summer. Villagers compiled a petition against the plan, and were delighted when Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority refused it.

National Park planners have confirmed that they have not yet received a fresh application to develop the site, but say they will be having discussions with the developer about the provision of an element of affordable housing within the scheme.

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