Acre of ‘asbestos cement’ to go at city plant
One of Herefordshire’s largest private employers plans to replace extensive asbestos cement roofing at its city factory.
One of Herefordshire’s largest private employers plans to replace extensive asbestos cement roofing at its city factory.
Heineken UK, which operates the vast 23-hectare Bulmers plant in Plough Lane, styled “the global home of cider”, is seeking planning permission (application 260501) to remove the roofing from two warehouses and three covered yards, covering over four thousand square metres, and replace it with grey composite and built-up roof cladding.
The use of the buildings themselves would remain unchanged within the plant, and indeed their “operational life” would be extended.
Nor would the current ten-degree pitch of the roofs be altered – though the replacement materials would be thicker, and also easier to maintain.
Contractors for the work “will be required to prepare appropriate risk assessments and method statements for the removal of known materials, and to allow for the possibility of uncovering further or previously unidentified asbestos or asbestos-containing materials,” the firm’s application assures.
“All such materials will be managed, removed, and disposed of safely and in accordance with current legislation and best practice.”
Herefordshire Council says asbestos cement, in use until 1999, “is usually safe unless it is damaged or disturbed”, and must be disposed of at special facilities.
Heineken gained planning approval in January to knock down an adjacent “pomace barn” and replace it with a slightly larger “lightweight” warehouse for storage, delivery and distribution.
The Amsterdam-headquartered brewing giant employs around 300 people in Hereford, but announced last month it would cut up to 7 per cent of its global workforce.