January 4th, 2007

A UK council and housing association are locked in arguments over who should be responsible for the cost of removal of asbestos from a number of homes that used to belong to the council but have since been passed on to the housing association. The bill for the asbestos removal comes to 3.5 million GBP, and both parties claim that the other should pay.

The disagreement between Blackburn with Darwen Council and the housing association, Twin Valley Homes, has been going on since 2002. Eighteen months before this the homes were passed over to the housing association by the council. Council officials claim that they were not aware that the properties even contained asbestos, but the housing association claims that the council assured them that there was definitely no asbestos in the properties.

Both parties involved have stated that they wish to resolve the issue without having to go to court. A council leader has urged the parties to come to a decision, as he stated that enough had been spent by both parties in terms of legal fees over the matter.

He added: "So far both parties have put a lot into legal fees which should tell them something. The council should now either accept liability, sit down and do a deal to pay the money over a fixed period or if they feel they are not liable go to court."