Repair workon centreto top£1m
Parts of Whitburn Community Centre will have to close for remedial work after Siporex was found to have failed in the roof of the games hall.
The roof material is the same as that identified in the recently closed Lanthorn Centre in Livingston and in the homes at Deans South. Structural issues identified at the centre will result in the temporary closure of some areas of the building.
The area closures are expected to be in place until Spring 2022 and result in approximately £1million of repairs, which the Council Executive has approved. A structural engineer has recently assessed the condition of the roof structure at Whitburn Community Centre as part of a planned programme of surveys of council assets to assess the condition of roof decks constructed with this material. The issue stems from a material called Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) commonly used in buildings built in the 1960s to 1980s and used in parts of Whitburn Community Centre building. The structural engineer has concluded that the RAAC roof planks in the games hall area represent a risk of failure. They have recommended that, as the roof planks are at the end of their useful life, they should be replaced. They have also recommended that works are done on a concrete beam at ground floor level. As a consequence, no activity can take place in the games hall, changing rooms and first floor meeting rooms. No visible signs of distress were found in the RAAC roof planks in all other areas inspected and these areas will remain open or will reopen once CovId-19 restrictions allow.
Council officers are meeting with Whitburn Community Education Association’s management committee on Tuesday evening following the Executive meeting. Donald Forrest, Head of West Lothian Council’s Head of Finance and Property Services said: “The council will remove and replace one existing RAAC roof deck at the games hall and first floor meeting rooms, and repair a concrete beam at a cost of just over £1 million.
““There are a number of risks and unknowns that could affect the programme so we are not be able to provide exact timescales, at this stage. Works are expected to last approximately six months and the target date for completion currently is March 2022.”