Restoration plans for an Art Deco Aberdeen swimming pool may be sunk.
The Bon Accord Baths on Justice Mill Lane have lain empty since too when they closed due to council cuts.
The Bon Accord Heritage Group, which aims to restore and reopen the building, now fears a new problem.
Experts are assessing the extent of an alkali silica reaction which is affecting concrete in the 1940s building.
Also known as “concrete cancer” it occurs when water gets into concrete and turns it more acidic over time.
Steel inside the concrete swells, causing splits and weakening the structure.
Craig Adams, a trustee of the heritage group said: “What we are expecting to find is that there is a problem, but it can be fixed.
“But if the problem is really bad and it can’t be fixed – and we think this is an unlikely outcome – then it’s not going to be saveable, and that’s the bottom line.”
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