Stirling University students’ union shuts ahead of new intake over concrete safety fears

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Stirling University’s Students’ Union has become caught up in the RAAC fiasco – with its building facing partial closure ahead of the 2023-24 intake.The Students’ Union said yesterday the announcement was being made with “deep regret” after a a structural safety inspection was undertaken on Wednesday ahead of the traditional welcome week for students.They said reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete (RAAC) was identified in the fabric of the building.A spokesperson added: “Given the heightened safety concerns over the use of RAAC, which was an extremely common building material from the 1950s through to the 1990s, the Students’ Union and university have taken the joint decision based on expert advice to introduce a temporary partial closure of Students’ Union spaces.

Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area. “We have received assurances from the university contracted structural engineers that any closure need only affect the upstairs portion of the union.“This will mean that studio, our staff offices and the media office will be closed until further notice alongside the chaplaincy, but other areas downstairs will be open and safe for students.“This means that we are aiming to reopen Starbucks (Underground) albeit with a limited menu from Thursday, September 7.

We are also able to put on a range of evening activity as advertised in our welcome week.“It may, however, mean that some events may not go ahead as planned due to logistical issues of having the venue open as a daily social space and bar.”The spokesperson said updates would continue via the Student Union’s website and social media channels regarding any changes to the programme but the welcome UV party was expected to go ahead last night.“We are