‘Urgent’ £900k RAAC works needed at Peterborough Town Hall

A report to be put before the council’s cabinet on July 15 states that the mitigation measures would ensure the safety of the occupants using the space below and are estimated to cost around £900,000.

Since January, all city council meetings have been held at the authority’s offices in Sand Martin House instead of the Town Hall due to the condition and fire safety of the historic building on Bridge Street.

This specifically related to requirements for evacuating large numbers of people from the second floor meeting spaces, as well as the discovery of RAAC.

Despite the issues on the second floor, other parts of the building have remained in use such as the chamber which is currently being used as a coroner’s court for inquests, including that of five-year-old Benedict Blythe.

The cabinet report states that the current floor construction (the roof of the original 1930s building) would not be strong enough to withstand falling RAAC panels, which span significant distances and are of considerable mass.

“Should one or more panels fail without warning, which is the nature of RAAC, the resulting impact load could exceed the second floor’s load-bearing limits causing the floor structure to fail. This could lead to a cascading effect to the floors below,” it adds.

The report warns that the council, as well as businesses that occupy retail units in the building, could face great financial losses if the mitigation works do not take place.

“Failure to proceed with risk mitigation measures at pace which are reasonably practicable to the level of risk is likely to result in a requirement to decant the Town Hall north and south wing, inclusive of retail units that sit within those areas.

“This will incur significant financial losses to a value of £760,000 per annum (excluding the additional losses associated with the second floor) for the council in terms of income generation from the lease agreements of the occupants within these areas.”

While the council claims that the likelihood of RAAC collapse is unlikely, it admits that the implications would be “severe” if it were to happen, including a serious risk of fatality or serious injury to occupants below.

The report states: “If injury or fatality occurs because of a known structural risk, liability may fall to the council. This could result in litigation, regulatory enforcement, and substantial financial settlements.

“In addition to the risks identified above associated with a RAAC collapse, failure to undertaken appropriate interim/permanent remediation could result in additional legal challenges from occupiers/tenants of Town Hall due to an unnecessary risk position and failure to comply with the terms of the lease.”

The risk mitigation works would enable occupancy of the lower floors with a payback period of under 1.2 years, according to the report.

Cabinet members are recommended to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Corporate Services, to authorise the award of a contract for the works relating to the RAAC mitigation at the Town Hall.

The authority has previously said that the program of works at the Town Hall were a “very complex issue” which it was working through to develop a “comprehensive plan”.