AN EXTRA £250,000 is set to be spent on removing asbestos from three former Penarth schools.

The Vale Council agreed to spend £200,000 removing asbestos from the former St Cyres, Ysgol Erw’r Delyn and Ashgrove School buildings in November last year.

But after work began on the demolition of the vacated buildings more Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) were subsequently found in the buildings.

A report before cabinet members earlier today said that more funding was now needed for its safe removal.

“Following the full demolition surveys the level of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) known to be present has increased, resulting in a significant increase in tender costs,” it said.

“This is in part due to identification of the presence of ACMs in the concrete floor slabs and in the bitumen on other floor areas and an increase in the amount of known ACMs in the structures.

“This has resulted in additional costs associated with the asbestos removal package which had previously not been identified.”

Councillor Chris Elmore, cabinet member for children’s services, told cabinet members that the request was being made for additional funding as they were now “in the middle of demolition” and needed to remove the asbestos.

The report before cabinet members said that the first phase of the £48million Penarth Learning Community project had included the construction of two new schools, St Cyres and the Ysgol y Deri, on the same site.

The programme was completed on October 6 last year after 104 weeks on site, with pupils moving into their new state-of-the-art schools shortly afterwards.

The second phase of the project includes the demolition of the former school buildings and the construction of sports pitches, with work expected to be completed by October 6, 2015.

The increase in funding will be made from a contribution from the Building Fund budget.