A major scheme to refurbish the Grade II listed India Buildings is delayed until next year after huge quantities of asbestos were uncovered.
The project is underway ahead of thousands of tax office workers from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) moving into the historic buildings, on Water Street in the City Centre.
Contractors working on the site have uncovered large amounts of the toxic substance - once a common building material until the discovery it can cause fatal lung disease.
Workers were supposed to be re-locating from their current Triad site in Bootle by this year, but now HMRC has confirmed its staff will not move until at least November next year 2020.
A spokesman said: "HMRC confirmed to staff in the region that, following a review of the opening time-scales for the Liverpool Regional Centre, India Buildings, the building will now be ready for people to move into from November 2020, several months later than expected.
"This revised opening date is due to the challenges faced in refurbishing this historic building and reaching the high standards of safety and accessibility HMRC has set."
Styles and Wood (S&W), the company contracted to lead the renovations, says the project is still in "very safe hands" but said the asbestos has caused significant delays.
A spokeswoman said: "This is a challenging project because it is a heritage building with the inherent complications that go with such properties.
"S&W specialises in complex refurbishments of historic and listed buildings so it’s in very safe hands. The project is progressing well despite the asbestos setback and we’re looking forward to breathing life back into a beautiful and historic building for the HMRC and the city of Liverpool."
Ryan Gregory, operations director at sub-contractor TNA Electrical, told the ECHO the cost of removing the asbestos had run into around £3m.
He said: "There's a lot of asbestos we have taken out and we obviously had to cordon off the areas. The building was built in the 1920s and we are dealing with the associated issues that brings.
"We are still discovering asbestos but we are removing it."
Concerns raised to the ECHO about agency staff being let go were addressed by both companies, who said some work had come to an end.
A spokeswoman for Styles and Wood said: "Every project like this has peaks and troughs of demand and is resourced accordingly based on weekly working requirements. It’s why agency staff are used, so that demand can be resourced efficiently."
The India Buildings were bought by finance giant Legal and General in 2017, having previously been owned by British Virgin Islands-based firm Marwees Ltd.
At the time the project was announced Jon Thompson, chief executive of HMRC, said: "HMRC has a large and long-established presence in Liverpool and the North West, and the new regional centre demonstrates our commitment to Liverpool, the region and its economy.
"The signing of the lease for India Buildings gives us the opportunity to bring an iconic Liverpool building back to life, while providing staff with the flexible and collaborative working environment that is expected from a modern organisation – making the centre a hub of highly-skilled career opportunities."
