Hundreds of residents are to be moved out of their council homes in Aberdeen after the properties were found to contain potentially dangerous concrete panels.
Around 500 homes in the city’s Balnagask area were identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) panels following an inspection last year, including 364 council properties – of which 299 are occupied by tenants.
Aberdeen City Council said it received an independent structural engineers’ report on 22 February with a recommendation to relocate council tenants to alternative accommodation “as soon as possible”.
Councillor Miranda Radley told Sky News: “For anyone who is concerned right here and now, we have made the offer of temporary accommodation to all of our tenants.
“But we’ll work with individual households and individuals on their housing needs and move them according to that priority.
“We’ve got a number of void properties – so empty properties – throughout the city that we have identified for the RAAC-impacted properties.
“But it will be based on the individual circumstances of each family and household – around where we house them, how we house them, and the timescale for that.”
The council said its officers are “currently exploring options for the long-term viability for the site, which include remedial works or demolition”.
A detailed appraisal is expected to be presented to the council within six months.
The findings were considered by the local authority’s urgent business committee on Thursday.
Councillors accepted a recommendation from officers that tenants be permanently rehomed.
Councillor Radley said: “We’ve done a tabletop exercise of the properties across Aberdeen City Council’s portfolio.
“We are almost finished that and there’ve been no other property types identified.
“There’s still a few property types to assess, but at this point we’ve not identified any further.”
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The committee asked officers to be available to engage with council tenants to “understand their individual needs and to support them through the next steps”.
The local authority said it has written to council tenants, inviting them to meet a housing and support officer in their home.
Owners and private tenants have also been contacted and offered support to discuss their housing options.
The committee agreed to set aside an initial £3m to cover the rehoming programme.
Councillor Radley added: “This is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone living in an RAAC affected property, but the council will be doing everything we can to support our tenants during this hugely challenging time.
“These are people’s homes and we need to ensure we support our tenants, but also engage with owners and privately rented tenants, to keep them informed on this matter.”
What is the problem with RAAC?
RAAC is a cheap, lightweight, “bubbly” material that was used in construction between the 1950s and 1990s.
It was mostly used for flat roofs – but also in walls and floors.
In the 1990s, structural engineers discovered the strength of RAAC wasn’t standing the test of time and only had a lifespan of around 30 years – putting buildings at risk of collapse.
