RAAC fears halt long-awaited Preston Guild Hall reopening
Suspicions that reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete could be present in the property’s roof have derailed the venue’s anticipated return, more than four years after it was closed suddenly.
Preston City Council has closed off the Guild Hall’s Grand Hall and Charter Theatre pending a specialist assessment by structural engineers due to fears that RAAC is present in the roof.
Preparation work was underway to bring Preston’s Guild Hall back to life in time for November to host Preston Weekender, a comeback gig that is now in doubt.
RAAC was a prominent building material used between the 1950s and 1990s and has a lifespan of only 30 years, after which it can collapse without warning.
The Guild Hall was built in the 1970s and opened in 1973, 50 years ago.
A spokesperson for the city council said that the authority is taking a “safety first approach”.
“Unfortunately, we understand that this may take some time, as the experts required to carry out this very particular type of work are naturally prioritising school inspections”, they said.
“The venues themselves are not currently in use, but we have been working inside both on a range of safety and associated works.
“A small number of future events were planned for this year, and we are in discussion with the organisers about these.
“The remainder of the Guild Hall, including the ground floor trading units and Harris Library, remain open for business.”
The Guild Hall closed suddenly in 2019 amid a legal wrangle that had its roots in 2014, when Preston City Council sold the 99-year leasehold to local entrepreneur Simon Rigby, who set in motion a £1m revamp designed by Frank Whittle Partnership.
Five years later, the venue went into administration and the city council took back control.
The authority understands that the venue could be waiting a long time for the much-needed inspections, critical to allow for the long-awaited reopening.
Guild Hall will take a backseat following last week’s government-issued urgent directive for some schools to close because of safety concerns regarding the structural integrity of buildings that contain RAAC.
It is not just schools. The material has been found in a number of other public buildings across the country. RAAC is one of the reasons the reconstruction of Leighton Hospital in Cheshire has been expedited as part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme.
Cumberland Council’s plans to upgrade part of The Sands Centre in Carlisle have also been accelerated after the material was found in a survey of the 1980s auditorium.
