Several buildings in Scarborough have been affected by the discovery of crumbling concrete including Scarborough Hospital and Scalby School.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) has been discovered in several locations in Scarborough which has led to the closure of various buildings.

To date, buildings known to be affected by RAAC include Scalby School and Scarborough Hospital.

Scarborough’s YMCA on St Thomas Street closed part of its building on Monday over concerns about the presence of RAAC, but the building was re-opened and given the all-clear on Tuesday.

Experts have warned of the “significant risk of failure” of RAAC planks, especially when used in roofs, as they can be hard to access and replace.

The lightweight building material was used between the 1950s and 1990s, mostly in flat roofing, and has a limited lifespan of around 30 years, meaning that in many cases “that has been exceeded and could be subject to failure”.

In some cases, the presence of asbestos – a building material that can also pose serious health risks – has made the removal and repair of buildings with RAAC more complicated.

Last week, Scalby School announced that because “significant parts of the school site are affected” by the use of RAAC, it was delaying the beginning of the 2023/24 school year until Monday, September 11.

Alternative arrangements are required for the 1,000 pupils until safety work can be carried out.

Currently, it is the only school in North Yorkshire on the current Department for Education list of 104 schools affected.

In July, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported that some staff at Scarborough Hospital had to be relocated due to the discovery of RAAC and the “risk of a roof collapsing” in the pathology department.

The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it had secured funding for the first phase of a plan to deal with the RAAC in the laboratory medicine building at Scarborough Hospital, with an update due to be given in December regarding national funding support.

Commenting on the discovery of RAAC in Scalby School, North Yorkshire Council’s director of children and young people’s service, Stuart Carlton, said: “Our priority is the safety of our children and all staff working in schools.

“We are aware of one school in the county which has been constructed using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

“Scalby School in Scarborough has been asked to close the buildings affected.”

Speaking to the LDRS, he added: “We will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with Coast and Vale Learning Trust, which oversees Scalby School, and the Department for Education.

“We would like to reassure parents or guardians that any school affected by RAAC will contact them directly.”