You will need an asbestos survey in Blackburn for that block of old buildings you are considering buying. Perhaps none of the buildings are occupied. They may have been sitting vacant for a couple of years but you still think they are a good investment for the future. Nearby sites are slowly being bought and refurbished into office spaces and lofts. Service providers will soon follow and before you know it, you could double your investment. There is a lot of work to be done first and the asbestos situation needs to be addressed. Finding out the owner has not had an asbestos management plan for two years is an unfortunate discovery. Government regulations require that you have a plan to deal with asbestos in effect. The owner seemed to think since there were no people inhabiting the buildings he did not have to do anything.
The owner of those buildings is wrong because in Blackburn, asbestos survey non-compliance is very serious. The owner could be fined up to £20 000 and face 12 months in prison for each breach of the regulations. If an owner breaches more than one regulation, as in multiple buildings, his fine is unlimited and prison time could be 2 years. The same regulations apply to owners of derelict or vacant buildings. They still need an asbestos survey. Certainly you do not want to follow through with a purchase until you know the extent and cost of managing the existing asbestos.
ACS Health, Safety and Environmental performs the most comprehensive asbestos survey in Blackburn. Contact ACS today for an affordable asbestos survey. The asbestos can’t be managed until you know where it is. Insist that ACS perform the survey so you will know you are getting a thorough check. Once the location of any asbestos is found a management plan can be prepared by ACS. You need to be able to view the situation from all angles. Is the asbestos in good enough condition that you can restore the building? Is the asbestos damaged, presenting a health risk to all who enter? If so, it will have to be removed before any work can start. Would it be safer and cheaper to just tear the buildings down? ACS can answer all those questions for you.