Two of Britain’s busiest airports have found concrete collapse that sparked a political crisis and forced the closure of hundreds of schools.
Heathrow and Gatwick, which together serve nearly 100 million passengers, said they noticed the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) inside the airports before it was detected at a school last week.
Gatwick Airlines said it maintains a register of locations where RAAC has been found and is closely monitoring these areas.
A spokeswoman for London Gatwick Airport added: “The most recent inspections conducted in June 2023 showed no concerns and we will continue to monitor them regularly.”
The Financial Times first reported last year that Heathrow Airport found porous concrete in Terminal 3, which is used by British Airways.
Heathrow has revisited its material management and monitoring approach following the safety concerns raised about the RAAC.
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said: “The industry is aware of and is acting on corrective action to be taken in buildings containing this material.
“Like many other companies, we value our property and intend to continue mitigating risks where this material is found. The safety of our passengers and colleagues will always be our top priority. We will continue to update stakeholders across the industry as plans for a permanent solution move forward.”
RAAC, which is made by mixing concrete with other substances such as gas to make it larger, was widely used in public sector buildings in the late 20th century. It is also used in private buildings such as offices.
England’s National Health Service (NHS England) on Tuesday ordered all hospital buildings to be inspected over concerns that there may be more RAAC facilities than previously thought. Around £700 million has been allocated to address this issue.
This comes as Crown Estate, which owns a large portion of the West End, is also understood to have its property checked by the RAAC.
Crown Estate began initial inspections of RAAC concrete in 2020. However, due to COVID-19 regulations at the time, we were unable to conduct a full investigation.
A new valuation will then be initiated and the entire real estate portfolio will be reviewed.
A source close to the situation told The Telegraph that the landlord had been investigating the potential risk of RAAC in the building for some time.
The Crown Estate’s most notable retail and office buildings include Regent Street, but it also owns buildings in St James and Piccadilly, including buildings built in the 1960s. Masu.
Hazardous concrete materials have an expected life of only 30-40 years before they begin to deteriorate.
Matt Neave, partner at real estate advisor Gerald Eve, said, “Given that RAACs may be present in any building built between the 1950s and 1990s, the occupants of the property and A major challenge facing owners is identifying whether RAAC panels are part of the building.” Building – and this can only be ensured by a visual inspection of the property.
“Part of the problem is that RAAC panels are used primarily for roof decking and are usually hidden behind ceiling coverings.In order to complete an inspection, these may need to be removed.”
We also know that British Land, one of the UK’s largest private landlords, has also started considering its properties for the RAAC.
British Land’s office portfolio includes Broadgate, Regent’s Place and Paddington Central, and also owns several shopping centers and retail parks.
A spokesperson for British Rand said: “While we are conducting a thorough review, given the age and type of buildings in our portfolio, as well as our rolling program of planned preventive maintenance (PPM) inspections, we are currently unable to pass any of our assets. I don’t think it will affect me. “
Several construction groups have long called for RAAC checks to be performed on at-risk buildings.
In 1996, the Building Research Institute released a report stating that RAAC had obvious structural problems and recommended that the government inspect buildings using the material.
Crown Estate declined to comment.