Former Convent site

The Former Convent site is privately owned. Hastings Borough Council does not own the site.

The council is involved because the site presents a live public safety risk. There have been repeated incidents of unauthorised access, ongoing damage and serious concerns about the condition of the buildings.

The site is unsafe because the buildings are in a dangerous condition and should not be entered. The site also contains hazardous materials, including asbestos.

No. The site is unsafe and must not be entered. Unauthorised access puts people at serious risk of injury and may also place emergency responders at risk.

No. The council is not seeking to take over the site. The council's involvement is a public safety response to a dangerous situation and is focused on reducing risk and ensuring that the owner and other responsible parties take appropriate action.

The council is working with the owner, emergency services and other partners on safety measures, including independent health and safety assessment, stronger security arrangements and further work on access reduction.

Further safety assessments and security measures are underway, and the council will continue to provide updates as key steps are completed.

The fire at the former Convent site in Magdalen Road caused a large smoke plume. If anybody came into contact with the smoke plume this may have caused them to have had breathing difficulties, watery eyes, coughing and a sore throat. Individuals with asthma may have experienced some worsening of their condition. Anybody experiencing these symptoms should recover shortly after the exposure and there are unlikely to be any long term health implications. During the fire, asbestos containing materials from building may have been released in the smoke plume. The health risks associated with this are covered in the following questions.

In older buildings asbestos was often used as a component of building materials, such as roofing panels, installation board and floor tiles. The building which caught fire had cement tiles in the roof which contained a proportion of asbestos. When material contains a proportion of asbestos it is usually described as an asbestos containing material or ACM. The majority of asbestos fibres are held tightly within the asbestos containing material and are trapped within the cement.

During the fire visible fragments of ACM were carried in the smoke plume and may have been deposited on nearby properties, gardens and streets. As the majority of asbestos fibres are held tightly within the asbestos containing material they are not released into the air and this minimises the health risk. If this material however is handled, crumbles or is broken up and there is a chance that fibres are released in the air. It is only breathing in asbestos fibres that present a health risk. For this reason it is best not to handle the fragments yourself in case they break up in the process, but to leave this to specialists.

If you find ash and debris from the fire on your property within Edward Road, St John’s Road or Magdalen Road. you are advised to leave it alone and to contact Hastings Borough Council on customerservices@hastings.gov.uk so that clean-up can be arranged. If there is evidence of debris in the garden you should avoid disturbing the material, for example do not mow the lawn until it has been cleared up and removed. You may also find that you have an amount of dust and soot on your property which is unlikely to contain any asbestos.

If it is absolutely necessary for residents to move or remove debris themselves (e.g. from a car windscreen) they should first gently damp down the debris using water and then either gently flush away small particles to the drain or, wearing protective gloves, pick up larger pieces carefully, place them within two plastic bags (one within the other, i.e. double bagged), seal the bags. Do not sweep up or vacuum debris as this could create airborne dust.

If you have breathed in dust it is likely to be in a relatively small amount. This single short-term exposure should not significantly affect your health. Asbestos is present in small quantities in both urban and rural air in the UK and so we are all breathing in small amounts of asbestos fibres over our lifetimes. The amount you may have breathed in from this one fire is likely to be insignificant in comparison with our overall background exposure during the course of our lives.

The decontamination operation will be done by specially trained council staff. As there is the possibility that they will be exposed to asbestos dust on more than one occasion during decontamination procedures, their total exposure can be much higher than that of members of the public. For this reason they are required to wear protective equipment, such as dust masks and overalls, to minimise any potential intake of asbestos.

The carpet will need to be cleaned by specialists. Do not attempt to sweep or vacuum up the debris as this will only create or spread any dust. If you live within the affected area (Edward Road, St John’s Road and Magdalen Road), you are advised to contact Hastings Borough Council on customerservices@hastings.gov.uk for further advice. In addition your house contents insurer may also be able to assist.

If the clothing was drying in the garden at the time of the fire then as a precaution the clothing should be washed in lukewarm water for at least 10-15 minutes to remove any trace of asbestos fibres.

It is important to reiterate that asbestos fibres were not released into the air unless the ACM is severely damaged or mishandled. This is why it is important to not handle the asbestos containing material from the fire yourself and to let any debris be removed by those that have been trained to do so.

To encounter any long-term health effects from asbestos, a direct exposure by inhaling asbestos fibres would have needed to have taken place over a long period of time. There is evidence to show that breathing in large quantities of asbestos over a long period of time (such as in an occupational setting) mainly affects the lungs and in some cases it can cause a cancer of the lining of the lung called Mesothelioma; it can also cause lung cancer.

For this fire, Public Health Practitioners from UK Health Security Agency and the Local Authority Public Health team have offered reassurance to local residents that this fire will present a low risk to public health in the long term. However if people do have any questions then they should seek assistance from their own GP or NHS 111 as appropriate.

For more information on asbestos visit: Asbestos - FAQs - Health and Safety Executive

If any fruits and vegetables in the garden have been covered by a sooty deposit it would be advisable to wash them thoroughly and peel them before they are eaten. The Food Standards Agency Food Standards Agency - GOV.UK will be able to provide further advice on food safety.