Cardiff venue to stay closed for another 18 months
Cardiff’s St David’s Hall is to remain shut for around 18 months while its roof is replaced and the building refurbished.
The 2,000-cap Welsh concert hall closed for an initial four weeks in September to allow the checks to be completed, but now faces a much lengthier spell on the sidelines after Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) experts noted that a significant number of the venue’s 900-plus roof panels were “red-critical” and others “red-high risk”, meaning they could fail and collapse.
Cardiff Council commissioned the report following changes to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advice on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete RAAC in public buildings. At least 10 concert venues and theatres shut their doors last month after inspectors flagged RAAC – a building material which the HSE said was now past its intended lifespan and is liable to fail without warning.
The council has cancelled all shows at St David’s Hall for the rest of the year, including gigs by the likes of Lindisfarne, Dexys, Graham Nash, Alfie Boe, Europe, Gabrielle, Daniel O’Donnell, Beverley Knight, Howard Jones and Level 42.
“We know this will cause a lot of inconvenience and disappointment for our customers, but we hope they will understand that the safety of audiences, staff, artists, volunteers, and everyone at the venue is paramount,” says a council spokesperson. “We will be in contact with promoters and hirers to discuss the potential for moving performances to other venues.”
“We continue to work to progress the transfer of the hall to Academy Music Group”
St David’s Hall was in the process of being leased to the Academy Music Group (AMG), which had committed to refurbishing the venue and dealing with the roof issues as part of the original lease agreement. The council’s Cabinet will now meet this Thursday (26 October) to decide next steps and whether it should still go ahead with plans to enter a new lease agreement with AMG.
The authority says that AMG had planned to keep St David’s Hall open with only short closures while repairs took place. But “the findings of this new report now point towards a complete closure to enable a new roof to be installed and a refurbishment of the venue to take place”, which “could take around 18 months to deliver”.
“Work is continuing to progress the transfer of the hall to AMG,” adds the spokesperson. “Ahead of taking over the operation of St David’s Hall, AMG had already undertaken its own inspections and while it did have plans to undertake remedial work and to keep the venue open, the latest report into the condition of RAAC in the building indicates clearly it would be better to keep the venue closed until it is completely refurbished, and a new roof has been installed.
“We continue to work to progress the transfer of the hall to Academy Music Group. We are keeping them appraised of the actions we are taking, and we are in constant dialogue with staff at St David’s Hall to keep them updated too.”
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Wales concert hall closed due to concrete issues
A Welsh concert hall has closed with immediate effect to allow additional checks on the building’s concrete panels.
The decision to temporarily close the 2,000-cap St David’s Hall in Cardiff was taken in light of the recent change to advice on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in public buildings issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and follows further discussions with the Cardiff Council’s appointed independent structural engineers, and insurers.
All shows are currently postponed for the next month, including concerts by Lindisfarne, Dexys and Graham Nash. St David’s Hall is set to welcome acts such as Alfie Boe, Europe, Daniel O’Donnell, Beverley Knight, Howard Jones and Level 42 in October.
Academy Music Group is due to take over the running of the venue in the near future and “has already undertaken its own inspections and has plans in place to undertake remedial work required in the medium to long-term”.
“We believe it is prudent and responsible to carry out intrusive surveys to further reassure ourselves and the public on the safety of the hall”
The Welsh government has been asking local authorities for updates on the state of RAAC in its facilities since Westminster closed more than 100 education buildings in England last week.
The council says it has been aware of RAAC at St David’s Hall and the need to manage it from a health and safety viewpoint since 2021, and has always followed government guidelines and advice to ensure it was safe. A building management and health and safety strategy has been implemented at the venue for the past 18 months, including 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,” says a council statement. “However, the council has continued to engage with its insurers and expert structural engineers and, based on advice received today from those experts, we believe it is prudent and responsible to carry out intrusive surveys to further reassure ourselves and the public on the safety of the hall. This will require drilling into panels to confirm their interior construction and to determine if any further work is required to ensure continuing safety.
“Consequently, we will be bringing structural engineers – who are RAAC experts – back on site to do fresh tests on RAAC panels in the building. We expect this procedure could take at least four weeks, and we will look to re-open the Hall as soon as possible, dependent on any action which may or may not be required.”
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