Asbestos Removal & Surveys in Devon

Asbestos Specialists Across Devon

Devonport dockyard at Plymouth refitted ships packed with asbestos insulation for generations. It's still one of the most important sources of asbestos exposure in the South West.

Plymouth was rebuilt on a large scale after wartime bombing, so much of the city dates from the 1950s and 1960s. The rest of the county has older rural and coastal property.

Plymouth's rebuilding left a cluster of 1950s and 1960s buildings like nowhere else in the South West. Much of it is council housing and civic property from the peak years of asbestos use. Rural Devon is the opposite: older stone buildings, where asbestos came later with new roofs and outbuildings.

Of the property in Devon that predates the 1999 ban, the largest single group was built before 1900. Altogether about 80.4% of its 595,760 homes predate the ban. Very old buildings often carry asbestos from later repairs and refits rather than from original construction, so what matters is what has been done to a building, not just when it went up.

The most common property type in Devon is terraced houses, at about 27.1% of the stock, followed by flats and maisonettes at 20.7%. In terraced housing built before the ban, extensions, outbuildings and replacement roofs are where asbestos cement and insulating board most often turn up.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works in Devon

Tell us what you've got and your postcode, and we'll send a free quote with no obligation. If you go ahead, we book a specialist suited to the job, licensed where the work needs it. Get my free quote

Managing & Disposing of Asbestos in Devon

In Devon that duty runs across 10 separate council areas. The buildings it covers range from town centre shops and offices to public buildings and the shared parts of blocks of flats. What the duty to manage requires is set out in full in our guide for landlords and businesses.

Disposing of asbestos in Devon

Devon's recycling centres accept bonded, household-origin asbestos only, and there is a charge of £21.30 per sheet or bag (credit or debit card only), with no free allowance. The limit is 10 sheets or bags (sheets up to 3m by 1.5m), each sheet wrapped individually, double-wrapped in tough plastic and sealed with duct tape; site staff cannot help load it. It is accepted at nine sites only: Bideford, Exeter (Pinbrook Road/Exton Road), Honiton, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, Okehampton, Tavistock, Tiverton and Torrington. Ring 0345 1551010 to check availability for large sheets. The service is for Devon County Council residents only, and waste created by a tradesperson or business at your home is not accepted. Privately owned panel vans and flat-bed vans need a free van permit to enter, and vans registered to or used for a business are not admitted. Asbestos that does not meet these rules must go to an authorised waste contractor. (council source, verified 2026-10-10)

Check the site's own page before you travel. Recycling centres are often closed on set weekdays, and often set extra rules for vans, pick-ups, trailers and visitors on foot, such as permits, size limits or no access on foot.

Asbestos waste is classed as hazardous (special) waste.So there are rules on how it's wrapped, labelled, carried and recorded. We set them out in full in our disposal guide.

Councils across Devon set their own rules for households. When we arrange the work, disposal is handled for you. For the rules where you live, see our asbestos disposal by council lookup, or check typical prices in the UK asbestos removal cost report.