The government has revealed for the first time the full list of courts found to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and admitted that a third has had to close.
RAAC has been found to be present in Preston Magistrates’ Court and Harrow Crown Court, which have both been forced to closed. But a response this week to the Gazette’s freedom of information request has revealed that Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court, Blackpool County Court, Blackpool Magistrates’ Court, Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court, Doncaster Justice Centre North (pictured) and Liverpool Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts have also been found to have the material.
The response confirmed for the first time that the Doncaster site has now been closed for remedial work.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service states that all remaining sites have been deemed safe and will be subject to follow-up surveys before the end of this year.
Safety inspections uncovered the RAAC material in courts from May to September. It was previously identified as being present at Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court but removed from the site in 2020.
‘All of our court and tribunals buildings, including Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court, undergo regular, wider safety inspections as part of the effective management of our estate,’ said HMCTS.
‘We are investing £220m over the next two years for essential estate modernisation and repair work across England and Wales, to improve the overall quality and enhance the resilience of the court and tribunal estate.’
The government has been reluctant to name any court buildings found to have contained RAAC – other than those forced to shut – since the issue of RAAC in public buildings became front page news in August through a series of school closures.
