Tinbergen Building demolition plan after asbestos discovery

An Oxford University building where asbestos was discovered is to be demolished and replaced.

The Tinbergen Building, which houses the departments of zoology and experimental psychology, was closed in February.

More than 1,600 staff and students were forced to move, though the asbestos was not in "accessible" areas.

A university steering committee unanimously recommended the building be pulled down.

A spokesman said it was a "challenging time" and the university was not yet in a position to say when demolition would take place, how much it would cost, or what architects would be employed to design its replacement.

Planning permission has already been granted by Oxford City Council for temporary buildings on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter and University Club sports field.

Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.