Poundland ditches plans to take over Aberdare's former Wilko store after Raac concrete is found

Poundland has ditched its plans to take over an old Wilko store in Aberdare after Raac concrete was found in the building.

People living in the Cynon Valley town had welcomed the plans set out by Poundland, after a rescue deal for Wilko fell through.

But those who were due to start work in the revamped store are now coming to terms with the news.

In recent weeks, new signs were put up on the old Wilko store.

A spokesperson for Poundland told ITV News that it knows "how really disappointing this will be to customers and colleagues alike", but added that "their safety is paramount".

"As part of our normal process of assessing new stores, we've been carrying out detailed materials surveys of the Aberdare site after obtaining access just a few days ago."

The statement continued: "We got the results back yesterday (12 October) and we sadly concluded we couldn’t open the former Wilko in Aberdare as a Poundland and so we’ve notified the administrator.

"We know how really disappointing this will be to customers and colleagues alike, but their safety is paramount.

"It goes without saying we’ll be talking to individuals affected as a matter of priority over the coming days."

• What is Raac?

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) is a lightweight form of concrete. 

The way that Raac is created makes it weaker than the normal building material.

There is no coarse aggregate - for example gravel and crushed stones - in Raac, this is what gives concrete its strength.

Instead fine aggregate - such as sand and stone particles - is combined with chemicals to create gas bubbles, and heat to cure the compound.

This makes it relatively weak.

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