THOUSANDS of council documents are to be destroyed following the discovery of asbestos in Waltham Forest Town Hall.

The authority says that piles of paperwork in the basement of the building, in Forest Road, Walthamstow, may have been contaminated with the toxic fibre after it was uncovered during maintenance work earlier this year.

Campaigners said the revelation had the potential to be a "calamity for local democracy" and said it would be impossible to scrutinise the council if crucial records were shredded.

The exact amount of paperwork to be destroyed has not been disclosed, but a member of council staff described it as a "vast number".

Researchers have been trying since January to obtain copies of candidates' 2010 election expenses after concerns were raised that many councillors had not properly filled out their declaration of interest forms.

Community worker Nick Tiratsoo, of Odessa Road in Leytonstone, is one of those who has been battling to obtain the documents.

He said: "At first [in January] I was told that they had been destroyed, then that they could not be produced because of short-term building work in the town hall basement.

"Now, five months on, the council finally admits that it has a significant problem with asbestos, and that many paper files will have to be shredded.

"This threatens to be a calamity for local democracy, since without records it will be impossible fully to hold either members or officers to account.

"The council urgently needs to explain how it has got into this mess and itemise exactly which files are in jeopardy.

"[It should] ensure that these are copied before destruction, for instance by digitalisation."

It has since emerged that all staff have been banned from the room since January, and only specialist contractors can enter.

In an email to Mr Tiratsoo, a member of council staff said: "a large number of paper based documentation has been withheld and will not be accessible for staff or public as clearance cannot be given on porous materials such as paper...this is as a result of the Healthy and Safety Executive guidelines.

"I am advised by the officer managing the contract that all paper files that were stored on racks will have to be destroyed".

By law election expenses must be kept for two years and the council could potentially be prosecuted if it has failed to comply with the rules.

The Guardian is awaiting a comment from the council.

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