Hundreds of homes evacuated after Raac panels discovered, with nearly 300 council tenants impacted

29 February 2024, 16:00 | Updated: 29 February 2024, 16:06

The council tenants have now been invited to meet with a housing and support officer.
The council tenants have now been invited to meet with a housing and support officer. Picture: Google Maps
Jasmine Moody

By Jasmine Moody

Nearly 300 people are being moved out of their homes in Aberdeen as they contain collapse-risk concrete, which closed schools across the UK last year.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

500 Homes in the city's Balnagask area were found to have been built with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) panels following an inspection last year, according to Aberdeen City Council.

This total includes 364 council properties, occupied by 299 council tenants.

A structural engineers' report to the council recommended the council tenants be relocated to alternative accommodation within the city as soon as possible.

The findings were examined by Aberdeen City Council’s Urgent Business Committee.

Councillors accepted a recommendation from council officers that tenants be permanently rehomed.

This news comes after the crumbling concrete crisis closed schools and affected hospitals across the country in 2023.
This news comes after the crumbling concrete crisis closed schools and affected hospitals across the country in 2023. Picture: Google Maps

Officers are examining options for the long-term viability of the site, including remedial works or demolition.

The Committee has also agreed to set aside £3 million to cover the costs of rehoming tenants, who have now been invited to meet with a housing and support officer.

Homeowners and private tenants have also been contacted to discuss their options for housing.

The council said: "Officers are currently exploring options for the long-term viability of the site, which includes remedial works or demolition."

The council will be presented with a detailed appraisal within six months.

Read more: Heathrow and Gatwick airports detect Raac in their buildings as more than 100 schools forced to shut classrooms

Read more: 'We got on with it': Headteacher criticises 'insults' exchanged during PMQ's surrounding RAAC crisis

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Since I first raised this issue with the First Minister almost a year ago, the Scottish Government has been astonishingly cavalier about the presence of dangerous concrete across the country.

"Today’s news will turn the lives of hundreds of people upside down. It will be incredibly worrying that the roof above their head could pose a danger to them.

"It flies in the face of the government’s litany of excuses and insistence that there is nothing to see here. Scottish Liberal Democrats have helped uncover the presence of this dangerous concrete in schools, hospitals, universities, colleges, fire and police stations.

"We need to know how this report and decision will impact the continued use of all of these buildings across Scotland. People deserve to know what is going on."

Shadow Education Secretary refuses to promise Labour will spend 'whatever it costs' to rebuild schools affected by Raac if they get into power

This news comes after the crumbling concrete crisis closed schools and affected hospitals across the country in 2023.

Raac was used in the latter half of the 20th century but it was suspected of not being useful beyond a lifespan of about 30 years. Other facilities built in the period, including courts and even parts of airports, have been found to contain RAAC.

In terms of structure, comparisons have been made with the inside of an Aero chocolate bar. It is lighter than normal concrete but also can get waterlogged more easily and become weakened.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid celebrates a goal.

Four people given suspended prison sentences for hate crimes after hanging effigy of Real Madrid star

Electricity prices in the UK are high because of the "insane" wholesale market, Parliament has been told.

UK electricity prices ‘way too high’ because of ‘insane’ wholesale market, Parliament told

Detectives have released CCTV footage of a man they wish to speak to following an attempted rape

Bid to trace man as police investigate attempted rape of woman in cinema

Exclusive
Jess Phillips on LBC

Victims deserve credit for grooming gangs national inquiry - not Elon Musk, says Labour minister

Lammy insists UK 'not involved' in Israeli air strikes  - as Iranian state TV studio 'hit by rockets' during live broadcast.

Lammy insists UK 'not involved' in Israeli air strikes - as Iranian state TV studio 'hit by rockets' live on air

The Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, where Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will visit on Wednesday Aug. 7, 2024 following riots

Pregnant teenager facing jail term following role in Rotherham riots targeting migrant hotel

Hamilton started the race in fifth and looked to be on course for a positive 70 laps - before his Grand Prix was impacted in the initial stages.

Lewis Hamilton is left 'devastated' after hitting a furry animal at 100mph in F1's Canadian Grand Prix

Gareth Bale is reportedly being lined up to front a takeover of League One side Plymouth

Gareth Bale in talks to front shock US takeover of League One club

DJ John Reid has died suddenly aged 61

Top DJ dies suddenly aged 61 as music stars pay tribute

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media at the G7 summit, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, Monday, June 16, 2025.

'Israel has right to defend itself - and Iran cannot have nuclear weapons', say world leaders at G7 summit in Canada

Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of 92-year-old Ryland Headley appearing via video link at Bristol Magistrates' Court, charged with the rape and murder of widow Louisa Dunne in Bristol in 1967.

Man, 92, goes on trial for the rape and murder of a pensioner in 1967

.

Scottish school apologises after calling Union Flag 'offensive or sectarian' in letter to parents

Richard Oladi, who works in NHS primary care alongside his mother, is currently stuck in Tehran.

'Desperately frightened' NHS worker describes being trapped in Tehran while on a family visit with his mother

A crane retrieves part of the fuselage of the Air India Boeing 787 on June 14, 2025 in Ahmedabad, India.

Families of British Air India crash victims 'feel utterly abandoned' as they blast UK government's response

Chris Brown is back on stage after being bailed

Where Chris Brown will play on Breezy Bowl XX world tour after bail

Viswash Kumar Ramesh (circled) walking out of the wreckage while clutching his phone

New video shows sole survivor of Air India disaster walking away from fireball wreck while on his phone