Shropshire Council commits to publishing all Raac assessments

The only building confirmed to have Raac present was Whitchurch Civic Centre and Library, Shropshire Council said

All assessments of council-owned schools and buildings will be published to help allay fears over crumbling concrete, an authority has said.

Shropshire Council passed a motion to publish findings after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was found at Whitchurch Civic Centre.

Labour group leader Julia Buckley said there was "a lack of information as to which buildings are safe".

The authority said investigations were under way.

Ms Buckley, who put forward the motion, said school buildings were assessed in 2018 and graded A to D if Raac was present.

Only those rated D were required to close before the start of this term, but she said those rated C or better were "left to rot" in 2018 and may now have deteriorated further.

'Mitigations'

The motion, which was unanimously backed by councillors, also committed the council to putting together a schedule of preventative maintenance for any buildings previously graded C.

Ms Buckley said there was "a lack of information as to which buildings are safe, which ones are not safe, which ones have been assessed and what the outcomes of those assessments were".

The council said it would encourage other partners to follow its lead and publish findings of any surveys, including those concerning hospitals, courts, town halls, prisons and job centres.

Conservative cabinet member for housing and assets Dean Carroll, who seconded the motion, said the civic centre was the only building confirmed to have Raac present.

"The actions necessary for public safety have been taken in that regard and mitigations are being investigated in order to ensure the continuation of service delivery in Whitchurch as a result of that temporary closure," he said.