Latest news with #KevinCordell
STV News
13-05-2025
- General
- STV News
Support structures to be built at RAAC-affected homes under pilot scheme
Plans for a pilot scheme to build support structures at Dundee homes with potentially dangerous concrete (RAAC) have been approved by councillors. The local authority's housing committee met on Monday to discuss a tender for the £500,000 scheme. Work will now be carried out at five void council properties in the city. This will see a supporting deck built under the RAAC-affected roofs in each of these houses to ensure they are fully supported and made structurally redundant. The local authority will then test these to see if they can be rolled out en masse across the city. In addition to the pilot project, the RAAC within communal areas in five properties in Menzieshill will have their redundant roof-mounted water tanks decommissioned. The work will begin in June and is scheduled to be completed in August During Monday's meeting, Labour group leader Kevin Keenan lodged an amendment calling for council chiefs to write to the Scottish housing and finance ministers in a bid to seek financial assistance for RAAC-affected homeowners. But committee convener councillor Kevin Cordell said he could not accept the amendment in its entirety. Instead, he agreed to invite the Scottish ministers to Dundee for further discussions on the RAAC crisis. RAAC was commonly used in the construction industry in the 1960s and 1970s. However, concerns over its limited lifespan have prompted fears of structural collapse in extreme cases if water gets through cracks. Hundreds of homes across Dundee have been found to contain RAAC. Dundee City Council previously said it had carried out numerous inspections across the city – finding RAAC present in 81 blocks of flats and 293 cottages. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Courier
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
£500k Dundee Raac pilot scheme approved
A pilot project which Dundee City Council hope will make homes safe from Raac has been approved. Councillors on the local authority's housing committee met on Monday to discuss a tender for the £500,000 scheme. The project will see remedial works carried out on Raac roofs in five void council properties in the city. This will involve installing a new roof structure directly below the Raac, ensuring the concrete is fully supported and made structurally redundant. In addition to the pilot project, the Raac within communal areas in five properties in Menzieshill will have their redundant roof-mounted water tanks decommissioned. These have been chosen as they are currently in a 'poor condition' according to a paper which went before the committee. Dundee-based Morrison Construction have been selected as the preferred bidder due to their 'experience in delivering RAAC projects for private and public sector clients'. The project will begin next month and run until August. However, councillor Kevin Keenan – who leads the Labour group on the local authority – called for dialogue to be opened with the Scottish housing and finance ministers over potential funding which could be made available to homeowners effected by Raac. During Monday's meeting, he proposed an amendment asking the committee to allow the council's chief executive to write to the ministers to ask for financial assistance. And whilst committee convener councillor Kevin Cordell said he could not accept the amendment in its entirety; he agreed to invite the ministers to Dundee to discuss the Raac crisis. Housing minister Paul McLennan has previously pledged to Dundee Raac campaigners he would visit the city. His promise followed a similar visit to Aberdeen earlier this month where he met homeowners and tenants in the Torry area of the city whose homes face demolition. No date has been set for the Dundee visit. The Courier has launched our Trapped by Raac campaign to help those affected by the burgeoning crisis and have the issue debated by government. We're asking readers to sign this petition to give campaigners a voice at parliament.
