Asbestos prompts closure of theatre (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Asbestos prompts closure of theatre

2:17pm Thursday 14th September 2006 in Swindon By Katie Adams

THE Wyvern Theatre in Swindon will remain closed until further notice as Swindon Borough Council attempt to deal with the problem of asbestos in the roof of the building.

The council has assured recent visitors that they were not at risk from what they say were low levels of asbestos in the roof area and in the auditorium.

They said experts had assured them that the chances of staff or theatre goers contracting any asbestos related illnesses are extremely low.

Press and marketing officer Jane Shrimpton said: "We want people to know that the theatre is not closed, it's just the auditorium that is out of bounds.

"People can still come in and buy tickets from the ticket office and shows are still set to go ahead.

"Popular perfomances from people like Bill Bryson will still go ahead. We have had many calls from the public who are concerned.

"We have written to and phoned every customer that had bought a ticket for one of our shows explaining what has happened.

"We had to rehouse all the shows but we have managed to keep them all within the Swindon area and we are still smiling despite the problems."

The clean up of the asbestos will be contracted out to a specialist licensed by the Health and Safety Executive.

Although the full extent of this work is yet to be confirmed this week it is likely to involve the removal of seats and equipment within the auditorium.

The asbestos residue from within the roof void appears to date from work undertaken around 20 years ago to remove sprayed asbestos lagging from beams inside the roof.

The council is investigating why inspections carried out by accredited contractors in 2002 and 2004 did not reveal the presence of asbestos.

When the findings of this investigation are available the council will consider its legal position.

Anyone with concerns can call (01793) 463000 for advice.