Arun District Council's Civic Suite has been given the all clear following the discovery of what was feared to be a potentially harmful asbestos based substance within the structure of the building on Tuesday 19 March.

The suspect material was found during building work in the Civic Suite on Tuesday morning and, due to the age of the building, it was feared it could have been asbestos. The work being carried out was to improve the sound system in the Civic Suite following on from recent complaints from the public about the difficulty some had to hear the debate when a large number of people were present at the previous meeting.

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A first test of the suspect material carried out by an independent laboratory proved inconclusive and, as a precautionary measure, a Full Council meeting was forced to be postponed for health and safety reasons.

A further second sample was therefore sent for analysis and has now been found safe by the laboratory and the Full Council meeting and its accompanying webcast will be re-arranged as soon as practicable.

Arun District Council’s Chief Executive Nigel Lynn said: "Obviously, such alarms are concerning for all, particularly in such a large area and it would have been irresponsible to have continued with the Full Council meeting without knowing the area was safe for members of the public, staff and Councillors. We are now working hard to re-arrange the Full Council meeting and webcast and will publicise a new date in due course."

(CD)