Council carrying out emergency school inspections amid concrete safety concerns

Caerphilly County Borough Council is carrying out emergency inspections of its school buildings after widespread safety concerns over a type of concrete.

Meanwhile, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is continuing to make “regular inspections” of one of its hospitals after the same material, RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete), was found there.

Public sector organisations are scrambling to check whether RAAC is present on their estates, amid warnings over the safety of the material in some settings. 

After news RAAC had been used to build more than 100 schools in England, all 22 of Wales’ local authorities were ordered this week to carry out checks at their schools, as pupils prepare to return to classrooms for the new academic year.

The results of that work are expected within the next two weeks.

RAAC is a lightweight type of concrete used in the construction of schools and other buildings between the 1950s and the 1990s, but a number of recent incidents including the “sudden collapse” of an RAAC panel in a school roof have sparked safety concerns.

A “major” incident was declared at Withybush Hospital, in Pembrokeshire, in August and three wards were shut due to the presence of RAAC.

Following that discovery, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said the same type of concrete had been found in Nevill Hall Hospital, in Abergavenny.

A spokesperson for the health board said today (Monday September 4) that “temporary remedial works” were ongoing while inspectors assessed the extent of the material’s use. Some parts of the hospital – offices, a small section of the restaurant, and the chapel – remained closed.

No ward areas at Nevill Hall are affected, the spokesperson added.

Gwent Police, meanwhile, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service none of the force’s buildings were affected by the presence of RAAC.

Welsh education minister Jeremy Miles said: “Our main concern is the safety of pupils and staff.”

He added: “Since we became aware of these developments, we have been working urgently with local authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association to make sure pupils and staff can go back to school safely.”

Caerphilly County Borough Council has been contacted for comment on whether any RAAC had been identified on its estates.

Blackwood Independent councillor Andrew Farina-Childs has written to Caerphilly Council’s director for education and corporate services, on behalf of all independent councillors, asking what measures will be put in place if the defective concrete is found in schools.