Raac repairs costing £900k to prop up building

The main work at Peterborough Town Hall is expected to begin shortly

A £900,000 plan to tackle reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) at a city's town hall will prop up the building, but not remove the concrete issue, councillors heard.

The "urgent" mitigation work was authorised by Peterborough City Council cabinet members in July after Raac was found at Peterborough Town Hall.

At a council meeting on Thursday, Adrian Chapman, executive director of place and economy, said: "RAAC isn't going to be removed, it's just going to be supported so it can't collapse."

He said the latest phase was "only the emergency works", adding: "We'll be recommending no further works are approved until we have a long-term plan."

The work will take place on the upper floor of the Bridge Street building due to the current floor construction (the roof of the original 1930s building) not being strong enough to withstand falling Raac panels, the authority said.

The council said that Raac collapse was unlikely, but admitted that implications could be "severe" if it did happen, including a serious risk of fatality or serious injury, the Local Democracy Reporting Service previously said.

The council scrutiny meeting heard that some work had already started, including relieving the weight on some beams where Raac was present.

Mr Chapman told the meeting: "There was a process for exposing some of the material behind both the wall and ceiling cladding so the professionals could explore the extent of the problem. That has happened."

The meeting also heard that one of the NHS tenants at the town hall had vacated its work space due to concerns about the building.

The mitigation work was given the go-ahead in July despite a council scrutiny committee recommending cabinet members delayed their decision until a long-term plan was established for the building.

Since January, all city council meetings have been held at the authority's offices in Sand Martin House instead of Town Hall due to the condition and fire safety of the building.