Pilot project aims to make Dundee homes safe from faulty RAAC concrete

A £500,000 pilot scheme to tackle dangerous concrete in five council homes in Dundee is set to begin next month.

It is hoped that remedial work on the houses containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) could be a “test bed” for tackling other affected properties in the city.

Almost 900 households in Dundee, the highest number in Scotland, are believed to contain the substance, which was used in flat roofing, floors and walls between the 1950s and 1990s.

The proposal will go before councillors next week.

The properties earmarked for the pilot are currently unoccupied

If it is given the go-ahead, the project will involve installing a new roof structure directly below the existing one so that the RAAC is fully supported and there is no future structural risk.

Committee convener Kevin Cordell said: “We want to be able to implement and test a practical, economic solution for each house-type in the council stock that contains RAAC and to establish suitability for possible future roll out across all our affected properties.

“This tender allows us to move towards that with an experienced contractor who will work with the council’s in-house design team to share knowledge and find the most practical and best value solution.”

The council’s neighbourhood regeneration, housing and estate management committee will be asked on Monday to agree that Morrison Construction (trading as Galliford Try) will carry out the remedial works.

In addition to the pilot project, communal areas of five RAAC-affected properties in Menzieshill which are currently in a poor condition will have their redundant roof-mounted water tanks decommissioned and the issue addressed using the same method.