Tauranga City Council has this afternoon confirmed it is dealing with a sick administration building after an outbreak of mould.

Officials admitted that representatives of Worksafe NZ and the District Health Board have been on site after several council employees complained of illness related to their workplace.

Tauranga City Council's Willow Street headquarters.

Sources told SunLive that council staff have been suffering from rhinitis – an irritation and inflammation of the mucous membrane. Common symptoms are a stuffy and runny nose usually triggered by air born allergens.

And just hours after SunLive raised the issue with the council, they called a press conference to publicly discuss the problem.

TCC have confirmed that 35 members of staff had to be relocated after mould was discovered at their Willow Street headquarters.

Two areas of the council's administration building were tested and subsequently confirmed for mould and staff were moved to meeting rooms elsewhere on Friday.

Sources described 'contaminated” areas of the building, and employees who suspect they might have been infected by their work environment have been asked to report their condition to team leaders.

Other employees have suffered unusual bouts of ear ache, headaches and respiratory problems. And people who normally wouldn't get sick started going to the doctors with 'awful flus and bronchitis”.

The council this afternoon admitted it is seeking specialist advice on the health impacts of the mould.

Meanwhile the rest of the administration building is being tested.