All October shows at the Sands Centre postponed as RAAC found

The Royal Northern Sinfonia, The Bootleg Beatles and The Waterboys were all due to play at the Sands in October, but these events have been postponed with no rescheduled dates announced.

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was initially found in the auditorium roof in 2019 and had since been ‘monitored’ by local authorities - but a change in government legislation last month led the council to close the auditorium just hours before a week-long run of Shrek the Musical was due to begin.

The new main Sands Centre building - which includes the pools, gym, sports halls, café, bars and restaurant - is unaffected.

The Waterboys concert is postponed (Image: NQ)

The Waterboys were due to play at the Sands Centre on Sunday October 1 and the late notice postponement has caused upset amongst fans.

One disappointed ticket holder said, “I have just found out that The Waterboys concert has been cancelled and I am sick as a parrot.

“I am shocked and appalled that we have had to wait a week before this event for it to be cancelled at the 11th hour. 

“Why didn't the council come clean from the outset and give us a proper timeframe.

“I know that safety is paramount, but local residents have been really looking forward to these events and we could have had some more notice.”

A Cumberland Council spokesperson said: “Following the recent change in government guidance on the use of RAAC in buildings, a detailed assessment of The Sands’ events space is continuing.

“RAAC concrete has been identified in the roof of the events centre and action needs to be taken by the council to ensure the safe use of the auditorium.

“Specialist structural engineers, working on behalf of the council, are looking at the potential long-term solutions as well as what mitigating steps could be taken to allow the space to continue hosting events for a temporary period.

“We will provide updates as soon as they are available.

“As the assessments are ongoing, we have advised GLL that the events centre needs to remain closed. GLL will postpone events in October.

“These are in addition the postponements already put in place for events in September. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause however safety is at the heart of any decision we make.

Raac has hit the headlines over the past month after the concrete forced hundreds of schools across the country, including Cockermouth School, to delay start-of-term plans.

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A spokesperson for GLL said: “GLL will make every effort to reschedule dates for the affected events. They will contact ticket holders with updates.

“The decision to temporarily close the events space is a precautionary step and does not impact on the day to day running of the main leisure centre.”

It is unclear as to when the auditorium may open with no confirmation given on the future of the pantomime at the Sands Centre