Cinema closure extended over RAAC issue

Abbey Hall was built in the 1960s

A cinema manager has said she is "gutted" after the venue will remain closed for longer following the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) within its roof.

Low grade asbestos was also found in the same roofing, which was built in the 1960s, at the Abbey Hall in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

The Abbey Cinema, which occupies the building, will remain closed until early November whilst the issue is resolved.

RAAC is a form of cheap, lightweight concrete that has a limited lifespan of about 30 years and is susceptible to structural failure.

Manager Sue Wiper said: "We are absolutely gutted, not just for us, but also on behalf of all of our 12,500 members around the town, and all the community groups that we support."

She said the cinema had "got through Covid" and would "get through this".

Abingdon Town Council, which owns the building, had planned to close it in September 2025 for a major refurbishment.

It was during preliminary scoping works ahead of this that the previously unknown presence of RAAC and asbestos was discovered.

Ms Wiper said the cinema was hoping to reopen on 8 November, in time for the release of Paddington in Peru - the third film in the series about the eponymous bear.