Edinburgh's building stock is particularly susceptible to asbestos contamination. The city experienced extensive construction and renovation activity during the peak decades of asbestos use — the 1950s through to the 1990s. While original Victorian and Georgian construction materials are generally asbestos-free, the 20th-century renovations that many Edinburgh buildings underwent often introduced asbestos-containing materials.
Common locations for asbestos in Edinburgh buildings include:
Our P402-qualified surveyor has conducted hundreds of asbestos surveys across Edinburgh — in tenements in Marchmont, Bruntsfield, and Leith; in commercial premises on Lothian Road and Queen Street; in industrial units in Sighthill and Lochend; and in residential properties from Cramond to Portobello.
Edinburgh's tenement buildings present particular challenges for asbestos management. The communal stairwells, risers, and shared spaces in tenements fall under the duty to manage asbestos regulations, and the responsibility typically sits with the property factor or the collective body of owners. We work regularly with Edinburgh property factors — including major firms managing thousands of properties across the city — to ensure their building portfolios comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.