Britain’s two busiest airports have detected the crumbling concrete that triggered a political crisis and forced the closure of hundreds of schools.
Heathrow and Gatwick, who together handle nearly 100m passengers, said they became aware of the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in its airports prior to its detection in schools last week.
Gatwick said it has a register of locations where RAAC has been found and it is closely monitoring these areas.
A London Gatwick spokesman added: “Our most recent inspection in June 2023 did not present any concerns and we will continue to monitor on a regular basis.”
Heathrow Airport detected the porous concrete in Terminal 3, which is used by British Airways, last year, the Financial Times first reported.
Heathrow has since gone back and reviewed its approach to managing and monitoring the material after safety concerns emerged about RAAC.
A Heathrow spokesman said: “Industry has been aware and acting on the remedial steps that should be taken in buildings that contain this material.
“We, like many others, have been assessing our estate and will continue to mitigate the risk where this material is found. Passenger and colleague safety will always be our first priority and we will continue to update stakeholders across the sector as our plans for permanent solutions progress.”
RAAC, which is mixed concrete with other substances including gas to make it larger, was used widely in public sector buildings in the second half of the 20th century. It has also been used in the construction of private buildings such as offices.
NHS England on Tuesday ordered all hospitals to survey their buildings amid concerns that there could be more sites with RAAC than previously thought. Almost £700m has been allocated to tackle the problem.
It comes as The Crown Estate, which owns vast swathes of the West End, is also understood to be checking its properties for RAAC.
The Crown Estate began initial checks for RAAC concrete in 2020. However, because of Covid restrictions at the time it was unable to carry out full surveys.
It has since begun fresh assessments and intends to review its entire property portfolio.
A source close to the situation told The Telegraph that the landlord has been looking into the potential risk of RAAC in its buildings for some time.
The Crown Estate’s most renowned retail and office buildings include Regent Street, but it also own buildings in St James’s and Piccadilly, which include some buildings constructed in the 1960s.
The dangerous concrete material has an expected lifespan of just 30 to 40 years before it begins to deteriorate.
Matt Neave, a partner at Gerald Eve, the property advisers, said: “Given that RAAC can be present in any building constructed between the 1950s and 1990s, a major challenge faced by property occupiers and owners is identifying whether RAAC panels are part of the building – and this can only be reliably done by a visual inspection of the property.
“Part of the problem is that RAAC panels are mainly used for roof decks which are usually then concealed behind ceiling finishes – and these may need to be removed to complete the inspections.”
It is also understood that British Land, one of Britain’s biggest private landlords, has also begun reviewing its estate for RAAC.
British Land’s office portfolio includes Broadgate, Regent’s Place and Paddington Central, it also owns several shopping centres and retail parks.
A British Land spokesman said: “We are undertaking a thorough review but given the age and type of buildings in our portfolio, together with our rolling programme of Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) inspections, we do not currently expect any of our assets to be affected.”
Several construction bodies have been calling for RAAC checks to be undertaken in at-risk buildings for some time.
In 1996, the Building Research Establishment released a report stating that there were clear structural problems with RAAC, advising the government to inspect the buildings using the material.
The Crown Estate declined to comment.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDIzLzA5LzA4L2Z0c2UtMTAwLW1hcmtldHMtbGl2ZS1uZXdzLXdpbmQtZmFybS1lbmVyZ3ktY29udHJhY3RzL9IBAA?oc=5
2023-09-08 17:50:37Z
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