The bill to replace crumbling Siporex panels on the roof of a community building in Fauldhouse has risen by more than £100,000 in a year.
West Lothian Council will now face a final bill of £830,000 to replace roof panels in the hall of the Fauldhouse Partnership building in the village’s Main Street.
A councillor said he is looking forward to the venue reopening as it has been shut since problems with the roof were discovered last year.
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A report presented to the executive today (Tuesday) outlined an increase of £110,000 since initial surveys in May last year.
The report added: “This increase is due to a more extensive asbestos removal following detailed specialist surveys undertaken in the last six months and additional structural requirements detailed through design development.”
Work is expected to start on the roof next month, with a completion date in August this year.
The council’s executive gave the go ahead for the spend after hearing that officials have managed to offset around £200,000 costs by sourcing savings through value engineering and alternative design solutions.
Director of finance Donald Forrest told the meeting : “The problem is now assessed at £830,000 due to additional structural works and more extensive asbestos work required.”
Local ward councillor Craig Meek told the meeting: “ I just want to welcome the report and I look forward to this work being concluded and the centre brought back into use. It will be much appreciated by the local community of Fauldhouse.”
Siporex roof planks- also known as Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) - were first identified in the hall within Fauldhouse Partnership Centre and following an inspection in May 2022, the independent structural engineer found further deterioration of the roof planks in comparison to their previous inspection, six months earlier.
A report to the executive said: “Signs of shear failure were present which presents risk of immediate collapse and water ingress continued, even with the remedial works that were complete with an aim to mitigate this.
“The hall was immediately closed for use with the option of replacing the roof panels approved at council executive on 21 June 2022. This delivers a long-term solution and provides the best outcome, both in terms of health and safety and gives the least disruption to the Partnership Centre."
Siporex was first found in the Lanthorn community Centre in Livingston in April 2021. It has since been found in several other council buildings including Whitburn Community Centre and several primary schools in the county.
West Lothian Council agreed in June 2021 to a study of council premises and the executive also also agreed to “instruct the chief executive to write … to the chief executive of COSLA requesting that all councils in Scotland be alerted to the problems as they may be unaware of the difficulties arising from the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete … particularly on grounds of public health and safety.”
In Edinburgh the city council is investigating 15 buildings which it believes could have Siporex. It has not yet confirmed whether any are schools.
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