St David's Hall closed until 2025

As the fallout from the ongoing concerns about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) continues, it now seems that St David's Hall - that wonderful venue in Cardiff will remain shut until 2025. This has affected a number of concerts, most recently the likes of Level 42 who had to cancel.

Cardiff Council has said the roof of St David's Hall will need to be completely replaced due to crumbling concrete - this is a similar problem to the one that has affected schools and hospitals across the country. The UK government has been aware of the dangers of RAAC for a number of years but has failed to put clear plans in place to deal with this problem in public buildings - it seems now that their hand has been forced as the HSE is clearly saying that RAAC is past its lifespan and could fall without warning.

At the concert hall, a number of the more than 900 panels in the roof are either classed as "red - critical" or "red - high risk", according to a council report. Rather than mitigation, it looks likely that they will all need to be replaced. More news to follow.