Council under pressure as footage of 'asbestos insulation' at Anglia Square emerges |
A video, which appears to have been recently recorded by a nameless urban explorer from inside the site's former cinema, shows pipes labelled with the words "asbestos insulation do not disturb".
The footage has been posted on the social media platform Reddit where it has been viewed by hundreds of people, including concerned members of the community.
But Norwich City Council has said contractors have removed the dangerous material in line with health and safety measures ahead of the demolition.
The pipes are labelled with stickers warning of asbestos (Image: sbsPlace01/Reddit)
However, this fresh discovery has pulled the council's reassurances into question and raised more concerns as the work rumbles on.
It comes just days after the surrounding streets were left covered in dust from the construction site.
A fog of debris descended upon Magdalen Street as the Anglia Square car park was destroyed last month, forcing businesses to close and leaving some complaining of coughing and chest pains.
Those commuting and working nearby raised concerns at the time over whether the dust contained asbestos.
The dust forced businesses to close (Image: Submitted)
A thick fog was covering the street (Image: Submitted)
And some have described a metallic taste as they walk near the former 1960s shopping centre which is being torn down to be redeveloped.
Leroy Barrett, 55, who runs Mercury Communications opposite the demolition site, said: "It was a total white out. A plume came straight over and engulfed us.
"It blew open the flaps on my shop door. I could not stay, I had to leave.
"My eyes were burning and my throat was sore."
The council previously said contractors had removed the asbestos from the building (Image: sbsPlace01/Reddit)
The video was taken in the cinema which is currently being demolished (Image: sbsPlace01/Reddit)
The council has not yet confirmed if any asbestos remains at the site or not, in particular at the location the pipes were discovered.
“Buildings at Anglia Square have, in advance of demolition, been subject to asbestos surveys carried out by independent specialists and reviewed by the experienced demolition contractor," a council spokesman said.
"Asbestos identified through these surveys has been removed by specialist contractors in advance of demolition works."
He added: "Anglia Square is an active, complex demolition site and anyone illegally and irresponsibly trespassing is putting themselves at serious risk of injury, so we ask that members of the public do not try to gain entry to the site.”
In its day, the original Anglia Square project of the 1960s was a forward-thinking example of city planning.
Sovereign House was built for Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the late 1960s, and a cinema and multi-storey car park - the beginning of Anglia Square - followed in 1970.
In 2023 a scheme to regenerate the site and build 1,100 homes was approved by Norwich City Council in a narrow vote at the end of an eight-hour meeting.
Developer Weston Homes, with investment firm Columbia Threadneedle, applied to demolish the brutalist shopping centre, along with the neighbouring Sovereign House and Gildengate House.
But the scheme faltered after Weston Homes axed its plans due to financial issues.