AN UPDATE on the auditorium at The Sands Centre in Carlisle, which has been closed since September, will be demanded next week.

Councillor Robert Betton (Botcherby, Independent Group) has submitted a question to Cumberland Council and it has been included in the agenda of Tuesday's (January 16) public meeting at the Civic Centre in Carlisle.

It will be directed at councillor Mark Fryer (St Johns and Great Clifton, Labour) who is the leader of the council.

Cllr Betton will ask: "The Sands Centre auditorium in September 2023 was closed and remains so today due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a composite manufactured and used from 1950-90 in floors, roofs, and walls.

"The leader stated, 'Improvement works for the older part of The Sands Centre building were part of a phase two of the redevelopment and work was already underway to progress these works. This work will now be accelerated, and further updates will be provided in due course'.

"Can the leader provide an update as to whether any other mitigating measures have been considered to make safe the auditorium for use until the contract for remedial works progresses or have any nearby suitable venues been considered for visiting artists, panto or other events instead of just closure?"

In September it was announced that events at the centre's auditorium had been postponed following a change in government guidance on RAAC.

It had originally been found to be present in the auditorium roof in 2019.

This initially led to the scrapping of Shrek The Musical along with three other scheduled events in the month ahead, including The Simon & Garfunkel Story and Fastlove: A Tribute to George Michael.

At the time a council spokesman reiterated that the new main building of Sands Centre, which houses pools, gym, sports halls, café, bars, and restaurant, remained unaffected and open.

Last month (December) catering provision at the centre ‘temporarily’ closed with the operating company, Hickory Foods, cited the enforced closure of the auditorium as the main reason.

The auditorium is set to remain closed for the majority of 2024.