HUNDREDS of homes in Aberdeen are being evacuated after they were built with potentially dangerous concrete.
A total of 500 homes in the city were found to have been built with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) panels.
Getty – ContributorHomes in Aberdeen will need to be evacuated amid RAAC fears[/caption]
The homes, in the Balnagask area, include 364 council properties.
These are occupied by a total of 299 council tenants.
An independent structural engineers’ report was submitted to Aberdeen council on the presence of the so-called crumbling concrete was filed last week.
The report looked at the occurrence of RAAC in a representative sample of these properties and was submitted on Thursday, February 22.
And it recommended that council tenants be immediately evacuated from their homes.
It explained that they should be “relocated to alternative accommodation within the city as soon as possible”.
The findings were considered by Aberdeen City Council’s Urgent Business Committee today.
And councillors agreed that tenants need to be permanently rehomed.
The committee also agreed to set aside an initial £3 million to cover the costs of rehoming tenants.
As a result, they have now written to council tenants and have invited them to meet with a housing and support officer.
Homeowners and private tenants have also been contacted to discuss their housing options.
The council said, “officers are currently exploring options for the long-term viability of the site, which includes remedial works or demolition.”
They added that a detailed appraisal will be presented to the council within six months.
What is RAAC?
RAAC is a lightweight, bubbly version of concrete used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, as a cheap alternative standard concrete.
It has repeatedly been branded a “ticking timebomb”, with a lifespan of around 30 years.
The scale of the potential hazard north of the border began to emerge in September last year as 104 schools and colleges down south were ordered to partially or fully close reinforced due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC.
The Scottish Government and bodies including councils and the National Health Service are frantically examining buildings for the material under a process started in recent months after previous warnings.
The Scottish Sun revealed that nearly 300 NHS and local authority buildings alone have been identified as containing or potentially containing RAAC.
This includes at least 35 schools across 14 of Scotland’s 32 council areas where the material was also identified.
Councillor Miranda Radley, Convener of the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee, said: “This is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone living in a RAAC affected property, but the Council will be doing everything we can to support our tenants during this hugely challenging time.”
“These are people’s homes and we need to ensure we support our tenants, but also engage with owners and privately rented tenants, to keep them informed on this matter.”
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