Council confirms none of its buildings contain concrete type linked to safety concerns

Caerphilly County Borough Council has confirmed that none of its buildings contain a type of concrete linked to ongoing safety concerns.

On Monday the Welsh Government ordered councils to inspect their school buildings to check whether RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) had been used in their construction.

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 elsewhere in the UK – including the “sudden collapse” of an RAAC panel in a school roof – have sparked safety fears.

Caerphilly Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service buildings on its estate were RAAC-free.

A council spokesperson added: “Caerphilly Property Services Department undertook a review of our entire building portfolio in 2021, which included surveys undertaken by an independent structural expert at sites which were deemed to be at risk of containing RAAC.

“None of the buildings surveyed were found to contain the material.”

Meanwhile, Gwent Police has also confirmed none of its buildings contain RAAC, and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is continuing to carry out inspections at Nevill Hall Hospital, in Abergavenny, after that type of concrete was found on some parts of the premises.

No ward areas had been affected by the presence of RAAC, the health board previously confirmed.

The Welsh Government said this week it expects the findings of the nationwide inspections of schools to be announced within a fortnight.

RAAC has so far been found in two schools in Anglesey.