Found asbestos in a Gloucester home? Start here

Gloucester’s housing splits three ways, and each carries a different asbestos risk. The Victorian and Edwardian terraces of Tredworth, Barton, Kingsholm and Linden went up before asbestos was in general use, so what is found in them today was added later: textured ceiling coatings, old floor tiles, bath panels and the flues and boards fitted when gas central heating went in. The council estates built between the wars and after them, Coney Hill, Matson, Podsmead, Tuffley and Hucclecote, went up when asbestos cement roofing, soffits and insulating board were standard, and that is where the higher risk materials are most likely to be. Then there is the docks and the old industrial belt along the canal, where the warehouses, the railway works and the Gloster Aircraft sites at Brockworth and Hucclecote used asbestos on an industrial scale. What decides whether you need a licensed firm is the material itself, not the age of the building.

Every HSE licensed asbestos contractor with a Gloucestershire address

There are four firms holding a licence with a Gloucestershire address. Trade association listings depend on a subscription, so a firm can hold a licence and still be missing from them. This is the full licensed set, straight from the register.

Every firm on this list holds a standard licence, which is the type that covers removal work.

Three things about the Gloucester list worth knowing

• Most of the list is in Gloucester itself. That is unusual. Most county lists on this site have their firms scattered across the county or just over the border, so Gloucester has more licensed choice on its doorstep than cities three times its size. The fourth firm is at Stonehouse, about ten miles south.
• Bristol is forty minutes down the M5. The Bristol and Avon licence holders quote for Gloucester and Cheltenham work as a matter of routine, so if the local firms are busy your choice does not end at the county line.
• The county council runs the tips, the city council runs environmental health. Gloucestershire County Council handles asbestos disposal through its recycling centres. Gloucester City Council’s pollution team is the enforcing body for asbestos in many of the city’s shops, offices and rented homes. It matters which one you ring.

Getting rid of asbestos in Gloucester

Gloucestershire County Council does take cement bonded asbestos from householders at its recycling centres, but the facilities are limited and the process is unusual. You have to order the council’s own asbestos disposal bags and a permit online first, wrap and seal the material in those bags and no others, then book a recycling centre visit online and enter your permit number on the booking form. The number of bags per household is limited. The council will not accept asbestos removed by a contractor, because that counts as commercial waste, and its page opens with the plain instruction not to try removing asbestos yourself. There is a helpline on 01452 596 626, weekdays 9am to 5pm, for anyone stuck on the ordering or booking. The county’s asbestos disposal page has the order and booking links.

Who checks the work in Gloucester

Licensed removal is HSE business wherever it is done, notified in advance and subject to inspection. For shops, offices, the docks developments and the business parks at Barnwood and Quedgeley, the enforcing body for the duty to manage asbestos is either the HSE or Gloucester City Council’s pollution team, and which one depends on the kind of premises. If you rent, ring the landlord before anyone else, because the duty is theirs.

The South West and the mesothelioma figures

Gloucester had more heavy industry than most of the South West. The railway carriage works, the docks, the foundries along the canal and the Gloster Aircraft Company at Brockworth and Hucclecote all used asbestos for lagging, fireproofing and brake linings for decades, and the estate builders of the 1950s and 60s used it as a matter of course. Forty years is a normal gap between exposure and diagnosis, so the current rate reflects that era.

The South West records 57.6 asbestos related mesothelioma deaths per million men, above the Great Britain figure of 55.9. Figures from the HSE’s mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain.

What asbestos removal in Gloucester is likely to cost

Gloucester sits in the middle of the South West labour band, below Bristol and Bath and well below London. Having three licensed firms in the city itself keeps travel out of the price, which is not true in most of the county pages on this site. Where costs climb is the same as everywhere: insulating board and pipe lagging are licensed work, have to be notified to the HSE fourteen days before they start, and are priced by the day rather than the job. For the wider picture, see what asbestos removal costs across the UK, and where the published price guides disagree.

Asbestos removal in Gloucester: questions people ask

Will the council remove asbestos from my house?

No. Neither Gloucester City Council nor Gloucestershire County Council removes asbestos for homeowners. The county takes cement bonded asbestos at its recycling centres by permit and booking, which is covered above.

Can I take asbestos to the tip in Gloucester?

Yes, but only in the council’s own bags, with a permit ordered in advance and a booked visit. Without the permit the site will not take it. Contractor waste is refused outright.

Do I always need a licensed contractor?

Not for every material. The law treats some lower risk asbestos cement as non-licensed work, while insulating board, pipe lagging and sprayed coatings must go to a firm holding a standard licence. The safe move is to have the material identified by a lab first, so you know which rules apply before anyone touches it. See our guide to what an asbestos survey costs.

How many licensed contractors are near me?

4 hold a current licence with a Gloucestershire address, three of them in Gloucester and the rest at Stonehouse. Firms based in Bristol also work across Gloucester, so your real choice is wider than the table.

Getting a quote from a Gloucester contractor

The firms above quote for this work routinely, and firms from over the county line will travel for it. For more options, see the licensed contractors covering Bristol and Swindon and Wiltshire.

Not in Gloucester? See every area we cover.