Found asbestos in Northampton? Do this before you ring anyone

Northampton doubled in size as a New Town from 1968, and that expansion landed squarely in the years when asbestos board and cement sheet were standard. Lumbertubs, Thorplands, Blackthorn and Ecton Brook all date from that push. Older than that, the Victorian terraces around Semilong and Far Cotton tend to hide it in later work rather than the original build: textured ceilings, floor tiles, a boiler flue added in the 1970s.

Every HSE licensed asbestos contractor covering Northamptonshire

There are four firms holding a licence here, and none of them is in Northampton itself. Three are in Kettering and one is in Wellingborough, all inside half an hour of the town.

One firm here holds a maintenance licence rather than a standard one: Beacon International Limited in Kettering. A maintenance licence is narrower, covering short duration maintenance rather than full removal, so ask directly whether your job falls inside it.

Two things on the Northamptonshire list worth knowing

• The county’s licence holders cluster in the north. Kettering and Wellingborough, not Northampton. For a Northampton job that means travel time is in every quote, and it is worth asking firms in Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire as well.
• Not every licence on the list covers removal. The type column shows which each firm holds. A maintenance licence is not the same permission as a standard one, so check the type against the job before you go further.

You cannot take asbestos to a recycling centre here

West Northamptonshire Council states it plainly: asbestos and asbestos bonded materials cannot be disposed of at any of its recycling centres. There is no free tip route in this county, and turning up with a sheet in the boot will waste your morning.

The one route for householders is the waste transfer station on Brackmills, operated by Thalia.

• Waste Transfer Station, Liliput Road, Brackmills Trading Estate, Northampton NN4 7DT.
• Telephone 01604 347660 before you go. The council’s own wording is that if you do not ring first, they may refuse to accept your waste.
• One trip per household. Not one a year, one.
• Only asbestos you removed yourself from your own home. They will not take it if you paid someone to remove it, and no trade waste.
• Each sheet or pipe wrapped separately in clear thick gauge polythene and sealed with tape. Nothing longer than 1.8 metres.

What it costs

• Up to 5 sheets of 900mm by 1.8m: £86.50.
• Up to 9 metres of asbestos pipe or guttering: £86.50.
• One asbestos water tank: £70.18.
• Free: ironing boards with an asbestos iron rest pad, which should be left attached, and small domestic fire blankets.

Anything above those quantities is charged at the commercial rate. Figures read off the council’s own asbestos disposal page, last updated 16 June 2026.

The East Midlands sits below the national mesothelioma rate

• East Midlands: 53.1 deaths per million
• Great Britain as a whole: 55.9

Northamptonshire had no shipyards and no heavy asbestos manufacturing, which is the likeliest reason it sits under the national figure. Boot and shoe making, the county’s old trade, did not use it the way lagging and insulation work did.

Figures from the HSE’s mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain.

What asbestos removal in Northampton is likely to cost

Two things push Northampton prices up a little. Every licensed firm in the county travels in from Kettering or Wellingborough, and there is no free disposal route to fall back on, so the tipping cost is in every quote rather than being something you can absorb yourself.

Asbestos removal in Northampton: questions people ask

Will the council remove asbestos from my house?

No. West Northamptonshire Council points householders at licensed contractors, and its own scheme is disposal only, not removal.

Can I take asbestos to the tip in Northampton?

Not to a recycling centre, they all refuse it. The only route is the Thalia transfer station at Brackmills, booked by phone on 01604 347660, one trip per household, and charged.

Why will they not take it if I paid someone to remove it?

Because the scheme is subsidised for householders doing their own small jobs. Once a contractor removes it, it becomes that contractor’s waste to dispose of, and they should be quoting for that.

Am I allowed to remove asbestos cement myself?

For low risk cement material in good condition the law does not require a licensed contractor. That is not the same as it being a good idea. Breaking a sheet is what releases the fibres, and most damage happens when somebody tries to make it fit in the car.

My builder found asbestos. Who pays to get rid of it?

Normally the builder. Waste created by a contractor is legally theirs unless your contract says otherwise, and the council scheme is closed to it anyway.

How many licensed contractors are near me?

4 hold a current licence with a Northamptonshire address, in Kettering and Wellingborough. Firms in Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire cover Northampton too, so your real choice is wider than the table.

Getting a quote from a Northampton contractor

Check that each quote states the licence number, whether the waste is taken away and disposed of, whether a clearance certificate is included where one is needed, and whether the price is fixed or an estimate. Disposal matters more here than in most places, because you have no cheap fallback if they leave it with you.

Not in Northampton? See the firms covering Milton Keynes, or every area we cover.