Council chiefs insist demolition work in Basing View remains on schedule and under budget, despite a second massive setback.
Deadly asbestos was found last week inside structural columns at the base of Loddon House –- one of the two buildings being torn down on the business park.
The borough council’s cabinet met on Tuesday to release an emergency £370,000 to pay for its removal.
The extra cash will empty the council’s coffers earmarked for setbacks and draw on funds for regenerating the site.
But despite the hitch, the total cost of demolishing Loddon House is estimated to come in at £2.4m – less than the £3.65m originally budgeted.
Borough council property chief Cllr Ranil Jayawardena said the discovery of asbestos posed no risk to residents.
“The contractor has acted quickly in revising the plans to complete the demolition, ensuring there is no risk to public safety,” he said.
In a report to the council’s cabinet, officers said the asbestos would not have been picked up in original surveys.
The report said: “As the asbestos is located within the structure and concealed with grouting, it would have been impossible to detect in the original asbestos surveys.
“Both our consultants and contractor have commented they have not seen asbestos used in this way before.”
The Health and Safety Executive has notified of the discovery and the deadline for completion of the work has been pushed back by three months.
The destruction of 10-storey Loddon House and City Wall House is the start of a 15-year council plan to revamp the ageing business park.
After the 1970s eyesores are pulled down, it is planned to bring in a developer to put up state-of-the art towers, shops and hotels.
Activity on the site was stopped last December after demolition company Armoury Group went bust with only half the work completed.
In March, Erith was given the contract to continue where Armoury left off, but at an additional cost of £200,000.
Cllr Paul Harvey, deputy leader of the Labour opposition, has urged council bosses to tighten scrutiny procedures to prevent further mishaps.
He said: “There’s is a question about the robustness of the tendering process and we need to have more scrutiny to protect the taxpayers’ money.
“The whole thing needs to be open and transparent and we need to see the full risk and the contingency plans which could have averted the mess we are in now.”
The council added that no asbestos was found in City Wall House and demolition is set to finish in August.
The site will be temporarily landscaped and a car park will be provided for businesses in Basing View.
A shortlist of preferred developers for the site will be submitted to councillors in the autumn.
