THE demolition of a former city swimming pool will take longer than planned after more asbestos than expected was found in the building.

A number of surveys carried out by specialists on the site of the Sansome Walk swimming pool found higher levels of asbestos-containing material than first thought as well as buried rubble containing the harmful material.

As a result, the city council has said the demolition of the building will take longer than planned so the risk to workers on the site and other people exposed to the asbestos can be minimised.

Worcester City Council has said it will carry out further investigative work across the wider site to find out the extent of the buried asbestos. Demolition equipment currently on site will be removed during the investigation.

The letter to residents, sent by the city council’s corporate director for place Andrew Round, said: “These investigations are being undertaken by licenced asbestos contractors under the supervision of expert consultants fully experienced in the removal of asbestos-containing materials.

“The council continues to ensure that this work is carried out in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards to ensure there is no risk to residents and that future operations are planned and undertaken appropriately.”

The council agreed to sell the site to YMCA Worcestershire and Sanctuary Housing in March and both hope to turn it into 76 flats and 22 shared ownership homes.

Specialists have been supervising the survey work and have submitted a report to the council and the HSE.

The city council was awarded a grant of £750,000 from central government to help with the demolition which is expected to cost between £1.3 million and £1.9 million.