University of Leicester facing ‘major incident’ over crumbling buildings

The Bennett Building will be closed for a minimum of two years while construction work ensures it is structurally safe. Photograph: University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is dealing with a “major incident” over crumbling buildings on campus that will be closed for years and require a major relocation of classes while they undergo repairs.

Two large buildings on the university’s main campus, where students attend hundreds of lectures and seminars each academic year, will be closed owing to concrete degradation and the corrosion of steel reinforcements that support the structures.