Around 300 people have been evacuated from council homes in Aberdeen after surveys found reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Panels made from the crumble-risk concrete were found in around 500 homes in Aberdeen’s Balnagask area, to the south of the city, including 299 occupied by council tenants.
A report based on a representative sample of the properties drawn up by independent structural engineers, provided to Aberdeen City Council on 22 February, recommended that council tenants were offered alternative accommodation as soon as possible.
In a meeting of the council’s Urgent Business Committee, councillors set aside £3m to permanently rehome affected tenants.
Councillor Miranda Radley, convener of the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee, said: “This is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone living in a 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.”
Council officers are exploring options for how to deal with the buildings in the long term, including remedial works and demolition. They aim to present a detailed appraisal of the site to the council within six months.
The council has invited council tenants to meet with a housing and support officer in their home and is offering owners and private tenants a meeting with a housing and support officer to discuss their housing options.
The council first wrote to residents of the affected properties last October, after a review of around 22,000 council homes indicated that RAAC might have been used in their construction.
