Raac: Medway Council could borrow £20m to deal with unstable concrete

Work to get the building back into operation is expected to take several years

Medway Council could borrow up to £20m to deal with unstable concrete at its headquarters.

A report listing possible options will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 13 February, although work to get the building back into operation is expected to take several years.

Gun Wharf, in Chatham, has been largely closed since reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was found.

The proposals aim to make the building in Dock Road fit for use for 40 years.

Parts of the Grade II-listed building were found to have Raac in October, leaving it with limited available space and forcing many council staff to work remotely, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The report listed a number of options for dealing with the building and the option recommended by officers is to borrow £20m.

Among the alternatives options were that Gun Wharf be sold off and a new council headquarters found, but the report warned this was not a cost-effective choice.

It also said officers looked into the viability of building or leasing a new main office and continuing to operate with reduced capacity at the current site.

However, these options were dismissed as being economically unstable.

Based on current interest rates, the £20m borrowed would add almost £1.5m to the authority's annual bills for the next 40 years - making the total cost including interest more than £56.5m.

Officers said this was the most cost-effective option explored.

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