Swale council has told staff to work from home as its headquarters will shut for up to a week following a new asbestos scare during a £1.9m revamp.

A council spokesman confirmed today: “Following the discovery of asbestos under the frames of some windows being replaced at Swale House, political group leaders have agreed to close the building so checks can be carried out on all windows to fully understand which ones are affected."

Swale House, in East Street, Sittingbourne, will be closed from tonight while testing is carried out. Swale council covers Sittingbourne, Faversham and the Isle of Sheppey.

The spokesman said the 50-year-old building was likely to remain shut until at least the end of next week. The ground floor reception for the public will also be out of bounds.

He added: "Once the testing has been carried out, we will have a full picture of the issue and can produce a realistic plan for reopening.

“Alternative venues are being found for decision-making council meetings. Most staff will once again be working from home, which we did successfully throughout the pandemic.

“We know this is not ideal and we are sorry for the inconvenience to residents, staff and councillors but this approach will ultimately save time and expense as we improve Swale House.”

This month's full council and planning meetings have already been switched to the Sapling Room at The Appleyard in the nearby Avenue of Remembrance instead of the council chamber.

Until the latest announcement, other meetings with smaller memberships were planned to go ahead elsewhere in the building.

Councillors agreed to revamp the offices in March after abandoning plans to sell them and build a new civic centre.

Contractors are installing double-glazing, repairing and insulating the roof and upgrading all lighting to LEDs to reduce the council’s carbon footprint by up to 70 tonnes a year.