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12
Jan 2024
Harrogate hospital receives £2m from NHS to tackle ‘crumbly concrete’
Harrogate District Hospital has received £2m from NHS England to help remove RAAC, or ‘crumbly concrete’, from the site.
Last year Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, submitted a £20m funding bid to tackle the problem after engineers found 2,500 panels containing RAAC across the estate.
The £2m is the first element of the bid to be approved.
RAAC, which stands for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, is a lightweight material that is less durable than traditional concrete and has a life expectancy of just 30 years before it runs the risk of collapse.
The first section of Harrogate District Hospital was built in 1975 during a period when RAAC was used in the construction of public buildings.
It’s been identified in a number of areas at the Lancaster Park Road hospital, including the therapy service department, two corridors, two plant rooms and an area which is not accessed by patients.
The £2m, which was approved on December 20, will be used to relocate services in the therapies department so the building can be demolished and rebuilt.
It will also be used to eradicate RAAC from a corridor within the hospital and will be spent on designs for future projects to remove the concrete.
A spokesperson for the hospital said
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