Raac concerns force UEA student accommodation to close

The Norfolk and Suffolk Terrace, known as the Ziggurats, will be closed until further notice

A university is closing some of its accommodation, affecting hundreds of students, due to unsafe concrete fears.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) said the Norfolk and Suffolk Terrace, well-known as the Ziggurats, would be closed until further notice.

Students would be moved to alternative sites, both on and off campus, due to new government guidance on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

In an email to students, the UEA said people's safety was "paramount".

Ian Callaghan, chief resource officer and university secretary, said in the message: "We realise that this will be a stressful time for students preparing to join or return to UEA.

"It is too early to say at the moment how long these buildings will need to be vacated."

Thousands of people are expected back at the Norwich-based university this month for the start of the new academic year.

Campus closures

UEA confirmed that as well as the Ziggurats, visitor accommodation in Broadview Lodge and the top floors of Nelson Court and Constable Terrace would be closed for investigations.

The Ziggurats provide accommodation for about 600 students, with single rooms costing £128 per week.

The Grade II-listed accommodation was constructed in the mid-1960s and has won architecture awards.

Nelson Court and Constable Terrace are 10-person student flats, while Broadview Lodge is an on-campus hotel for visiting academics and students.

The UEA said it did not believe any other residential or non-residential buildings had issues and that students affected by the closures would be contacted by 12 September.

Raac, which is a lightweight concrete, has the ability to crumble in certain conditions

In the past week, hundreds of buildings across England have been closed or partially shut after new guidance on Raac was published by the government.

It advised that all spaces containing Raac, which was last used in construction in the mid-1990s, were vacated.