Dundee’s former local council was aware of structural issues caused by Raac nearly 50 years ago, The Courier can reveal.
Documents from the local authority archives reveal that concerns were first raised about Siporex, a brand of Raac, as far back as 1977.
The issue was discovered in 34 homes.
In 1977, the depute chief architect of City of Dundee District Council – as it was called then – wrote a report called “Craigie Drive 3rd Development – Defective Ceilings”.
The architect stated that the moisture content of Siporex “was higher than normally would be expected” in units built nine years previously in 1968/69.
The architect, Ian M. Dunsire, speaks of the concrete “blistering”.
He reports: “These blisters are sufficiently loose to be easily removed and leave a small crater on the underside of the ceiling.”
Siporex in three housing estates
Siporex problems were identified in three estates, known then as Craigie Drive 3rd development, and Kirk Street 1st and 2nd developments.
The Courier understands they are now called Southampton Place, Kirk Street and Yeamans Lane.
All three streets have been found to contain Raac since 2023 through testing by Dundee City Council.
In 1978, the director of technical services at the City of Dundee District Council submitted a report detailing the probable costs for “the repair of Siporex ceilings” at the three developments.
£70,000 was set aside in 1978 to address the issue.
The Right to Buy scheme, through which many Raac properties were purchased from the council, did not begin until 1980.
Nearly 900 homes in Dundee are now known to contain Raac, the highest number of affected residential properties in Scotland.
Dundee City Council has repeatedly told homeowners they must pay for their own repairs.
A statement on the local authority’s website states: “The council has no ongoing maintenance responsibilities and no liability towards owners who bought their former council properties under the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme, or any subsequent owners.”
As part of our Trapped by Raac campaign, The Courier is asking people to sign this petition to help homeowners affected by the crisis.
What does the council say now?
The Courier asked Dundee City Council if it accepts that Raac was known to be in homes, and that there were issues with the product, before the properties were sold to private homeowners through the Right to Buy Scheme.
In response, a spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “These are historic records which relate to consideration of work at 34 properties.
“There was no suggestion of wider remedial work being identified across the rest of the development, or in other developments where Siporex might have been used, indicating that this was being treated as a localised issue.
“Defects can happen in properties of all construction types and there was no prior equivalent industry-wide concern about Raac until the issues came to light in schools in England from 2019 onwards.”
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