Council offices shut after dangerous concrete find

Medway Council offices in Chatham will be closed all week due to the discovery of dangerous concrete

The main offices of a council in Kent have been closed after the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in parts of the building's roof.

Medway Council said the closure of Gun Wharf in Chatham was "regrettable" and "temporary".

A council statement said initial assessments of accessible areas had revealed "some damage".

It said the offices on Dock Road would remain closed for "at least the rest of this week for the safety of staff and residents".

The county and family courts for the Medway towns are based in the building and will be affected, a council spokesman said.

Council leader Vince Maple said the closure was to "allow further structural tests to be carried out to fully assess the extent of the damage".

He said: “Despite our main offices being temporarily closed, it is, however, business as usual with our residents continuing to be able to access all of our services.

"Since the pandemic, plans are in place which enable our staff to work off site and continue providing high quality support to our most vulnerable residents."

Mr Maple added: “We are not alone in finding ourselves in this unfortunate position, with other councils and public buildings, such as hospitals and theatres, across Kent and the rest of the country working through the unknowns of rectifying this type of concrete being used in older buildings."

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