Work to dismantle Burnham-On-Sea’s beach boating pool has been dramatically halted this week after asbestos was found in part of the landmark’s crumbling concrete structure.
The landmark was due to have been fully removed by owners Sedgemoor District Council, but Burnham-On-Sea.com learns workmen given the task of taking away have been asked to halt the work after the shock asbestos discovery.
“It has come as a big surprise,” a senior spokesman for the council who is close to the project confirmed to Burnham-On-Sea.com.
He added: “A section of the eroded concrete structure near the flag pole has been patched up in the past with a material that contains asbestos.”
“Asbestos is not dangerous when it is wet but the dust can cause a health hazard, which is why the work has been halted in the short term.”
“The work to remove the pool has therefore been delayed while investigations take place to see how much of the material has been used.”
“We hope to get a team with a digger down onto the beach over the next week to investigate further.”
Burnham-On-Sea.com was first to reveal last summer that the landmark was in jeopardy after cash-strapped Sedgemoor District Council said it was conducting a study into the extent of the repairs needed to retain it.
District councillors voted in December to get the pool removed due to costly repairs and safety concerns – and the council admitted last month that the bill to tax payers of demolishing it would be a huge £9,800.
The pool, built in the 1920s, was given to Burnham by members of the Braithwaite family, who constructed it to mark the safe return of their five sons from the Great War.
