UK: On 12 June 2025, a powerful petition calling for urgent support for homeowners affected by Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in Hirwaun’s Gower Estate went live on the Welsh Parliament’s website. The petition — P-06-1549 — highlights the financial and safety crisis facing 77 homes identified with dangerous RAAC construction, including 14 privately owned properties sold through the Right to Buy scheme.

Now, the petition has reached a critical stage: the Senedd’s Petitions Committee will formally review it on Monday 8 December 2025 at 14:00, with a live broadcast on Senedd.tv.

Just days before the session, Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the UK RAAC Campaign Group and lead petitioner, received a confirmation email: “Your petition will be considered at our next meeting…” — a long-awaited opportunity to present the truth about the escalating housing scandal.

What follows is a breakdown of the petition, the Welsh Government’s official stance, and why this issue is rapidly becoming a national test of political responsibility.

A Community in Crisis: The Petition at a Glance

In February 2024, RAAC was confirmed in 77 homes in the Gower Estate. RAAC, a lightweight bubbly concrete used between the 1950s and 1990s, has recently become a national byword for structural failure after sudden roof collapses in schools and hospitals across the UK.

The situation in Hirwaun is especially dire:

Homeowners face average costs of £23,000 for what experts often describe as only a temporary fix.

Many are mortgage prisoners, trapped with lenders unwilling to refinance RAAC homes.

Insurance policies exclude RAAC-related issues, leaving families financially exposed.

Properties were originally built cheaply by the local council, then moved through Trivallis and sold to unsuspecting residents — without any disclosure of structural risks.

The petition calls on the Welsh Government to:

Create a national RAAC remediation fund (or seek UK Government support)

Launch a public inquiry into historic failings

 

Reform building regulations to mandate 50-year guarantees on high-risk materials

Establish a Welsh high-risk property register to prevent repeat scandals

It also rightly references long-ignored warnings, including 400+ RAAC demolitions in Basildon in the 1990s and 86 condemned homes in West Lothian in 2004.

RAAC has been a known structural hazard for decades. Governments simply did not act.

What the Senedd Knows: Summary of the Petitions Committee Briefing

The official Senedd research briefing released for the 8 December session confirms:

RAAC was found in 77 homes in the Gower Estate — the only Trivallis housing of that type in Wales.

Trivallis’s remediation programme for its social homes runs from October 2024 to April 2027.

Trivallis has offered private homeowners access to its contractors, a gesture that may reduce costs but does not address affordability for severely low-income residents.

RCT Council offers grants up to £6,500, but only two households on the estate currently qualify.

The Council also offers loans and has assigned a Support Worker and Public Health team to assist.

However, this support does not come close to covering the real cost of making these homes safe.

Wales is not alone. Scotland is grappling with over 3,000 RAAC-affected homes and has formed a new RAAC in Housing Leadership Group — while also negotiating funding flexibilities with local authorities. Aberdeen, for example, has already secured £10 million in support enabling pre-RAAC-value buybacks.

No such support has been offered in Wales.

The Welsh Government’s Response: Correct, Concerned… but Not Committed

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS, responded to the petition on 14 November 2025. Her letter deserves careful attention.

What she acknowledges

She thanks Wilson Chowdhry for raising the issue.

She recognises that some homeowners will need support.

She confirms the Welsh Government is “working with UK and devolved governments” on RAAC.

She notes that Trivallis has begun remediation works and is offering contractor access to private owners.

What she does not commit to

No new funding for homeowners

No Welsh remediation scheme, even though remediation funding is already being explored in Scotland and has been standard in England for schools

No interest-free loans through Welsh Government

No move to amend building regulations to mandate material guarantees

No public inquiry into historic failures

No high-risk property register

Her key statement is revealing:

“Building maintenance is ultimately the responsibility of property owners.”

This line may be technically true in ordinary circumstances — but not when residents are living in homes built by the public sector with structurally defective materials, then sold through a government policy (Right to Buy) with zero disclosure of known risks.

The Welsh Government’s position effectively leaves the poorest households facing a structural disaster alone.

What Happens Next?

The petition will be debated publicly on 8 December 2025, and the Committee could recommend:

Further evidence sessions

A debate in the Senedd chamber

A formal request that the Welsh Government reconsider its position

Calls for a funding mechanism

Referral to other scrutiny committees

This meeting will be a key moment for residents, the RAAC Campaign Group, and policymakers.

Why This Matters Beyond Hirwaun

RAAC in housing is not a localised anomaly. It is emerging as a nationwide crisis, with:

2,445 RAAC-affected social homes in Scotland

Nearly 700 privately owned homes confirmed

Hundreds more under review across the UK

Complete demolitions on record since the 1990s

The truth is simple:

RAAC is a UK-wide structural scandal whose consequences were foreseeable, avoidable, and ignored for decades.

What happens in Hirwaun could set a precedent for every other affected community.

A Community That Deserves Better

The people of Hirwaun are not asking for luxury. They are asking for:

Safe homes

A fair chance to repair their properties

Recognition of historic failings

Protection from financial ruin

These are the basic expectations any government should meet.

As the petition comes before the Committee, the Welsh Government is faced with a choice:

continue to pass the burden onto low-income homeowners, or take meaningful steps toward justice and remediation.

The families of Hirwaun — and those across the UK — deserve more than sympathy.

They deserve structural solutions to a structural failure.

Wilson Chowdhry stated:

"It is important to note that the Welsh Government’s email regarding the response deadline unfortunately went to my junk email folder, meaning I only became aware of it recently. A formal response has been submitted today, 5 December 2025, and I will be seeking and pleading with the relevant officials to ensure that it is shared with all participants and properly considered in the Petitions Committee process ahead of the 8 December meeting."