Repairs work at Harrogate District Hospital to fix crumbling concrete are a “critical building safety issue” which should be funded, a Labour MP has said.
The hospital on Lancaster Park Road requires essential work to repair panels made of RAAC.
RAAC – reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – made headlines nationally recently after it was found to be a substandard component of many schools and hospitals built between the 1950s and 1990s.
Health officials estimated in September it will cost £20 million to eradicate “crumbly concrete” from Harrogate District Hospital, which was built in the 1970s.
As a result, the hospital trust has bid for funding for the work.
Read more:
- Government urged to ‘come clean’ on North Yorkshire RAAC schools
- Harrogate hospital ‘crumbly concrete’ to cost £20m to eradicate
- Harrogate hospital roof contains crumbling concrete
During a debate in the House of Commons on Monday, Mike Amesbury, Labour MP for Weaver Vale, said hospitals in his constituency were also built with the same material.
Richard Foord, Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson, made an intervention during Mr Amesbury’s speech to raise the issue at Harrogate.
He said:
“I was interested to hear the hon. Member mention RAAC in his speech.
“I have heard that there is a hospital in Harrogate that needs £20 million of repairs because of RAAC, but the government are requiring that hospital to bid for the funding, rather than just giving it the funding. Does the hon. Member think that is right?”
In response, Mr Amesbury, who is also shadow minister for building safety and homelessness, said:
“I certainly do not. It is a critical building safety issue, and funding should be given according to need, so that is a very well-made point.”
The comments come as Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, called on the government to foot the bill for the repairs.
This month, Mr Gordon wrote to the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay MP, to highlight his concerns about the construction panels at the hospital made of RAAC.
