St David’s Hall closes temporarily for additional RAAC checks

Cardiff’s St David’s Hall has today released a statement announcing its temporary closure to the public following changes in guidelines from the Government’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) which have also seen the closure of schools across the country.

The venue, which hosts classical events including the Cardiff Singer of the Year competition and Welsh Proms, has been closed to allow structural engineers to undertake additional checks on its RAAC panels. Cardiff council has been following government advice around RAAC since it became aware of the material in the Hall in 2021, but recent changes in government guidelines have seen the HSE declare that: ‘RAAC is now life-expired. It is liable to collapse with little or no notice.’

In today’s statement, St David’s Hall’s management said: ‘A building management and health and safety strategy has been implemented at the venue for the past 18 months. This included regular inspections by independent structural engineers with specific RAAC expertise. Throughout this time no issues were raised about the condition of RAAC in the building and there was no evidence of deterioration – and this remains the case.’

The ‘intrusive surveys’ carried out in the Hall are expected to take four weeks, after which venue management ‘will look to re-open the Hall as soon as possible, dependent on any action which may or may not be required.’ A performance from comedian Paul Smith, originally scheduled to take place tonight has been postponed.

The closure of the 1980s building is not expected to affect its transfer into the management of Academy Music Group (AMG) which had already undertaken its own inspections and plans to ‘undertake remedial work required in the medium to long-term'.