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09
Nov 2023
Lib Dem candidate calls on government to foot £20m Harrogate hospital concrete bill
The man who hopes to be Harrogate and Knaresborough's next Liberal Democrat MP has launched a campaign calling on the government to foot the bill for essential repairs at Harrogate District Hospital.
Tom Gordon, the Lib Dems' parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has written to the 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.
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.
A survey of hospital properties found 2,500 RAAC panels, and added that remedial works have been completed on 12 "high-risk" panels, with some theatres and corridors in the hospital made safe with props. The report said that further propping might be needed of panels that were in danger of collapsing.
Mr Gordon said:
Residents can add their name to Mr Gordon's letter to the Secretary of State online.
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
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