India Building to remain closed until end of 2020 after dangerous material unearthed

A major scheme to refurbish the Grade II listed India Buildings is delayed until next year after huge quantities of asbestos were uncovered.

The project is underway ahead of thousands of tax office workers from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) moving into the historic buildings, on Water Street in the City Centre.

Contractors working on the site have uncovered large amounts of the toxic substance - once a common building material until the discovery it can cause fatal lung disease.

Workers were supposed to be re-locating from their current Triad site in Bootle by this year, but now HMRC has confirmed its staff will not move until at least November next year 2020. 

A spokesman said: "HMRC confirmed to staff in the region that, following a review of the opening time-scales for the Liverpool Regional Centre, India Buildings, the building will now be ready for people to move into from November 2020, several months later than expected. 

This revised opening date is due to the challenges faced in refurbishing this historic building and reaching the high standards of safety and accessibility HMRC has set."

Styles and Wood (S&W), the company contracted to lead the renovations, says the project is still in "very safe hands" but said the asbestos has caused significant delays.

A spokeswoman said: "This is a challenging project because it is a heritage building with the inherent complications that go with such properties. 

"S&W specialises in complex refurbishments of historic and listed buildings so it’s in very safe hands. The project is progressing well despite the asbestos setback and we’re looking forward to breathing life back into a beautiful and historic building for the HMRC and the city of Liverpool."

Ryan Gregory, operations director at sub-contractor TNA Electrical, told the ECHO the cost of removing the asbestos had run into around £3m.