Cladding is safe
School buildings in South Ayrshire have been deemed safe - despite using c o n t r o v e r s i a l cladding.
New buildings for Ayr Academy, Dalmilling Primary and Marr College use aluminium composite material ( ACM) cladding.
But council chiefs say the type used is low- risk, and has won all appropriate safety certificates.
Property boss Donald Gillies said: “These findings are not surprising given how extensively ACM - which comes in many forms - is used in the construction industry and we continue to have confidence in the safety of our school estate.
“To provide complete reassurance, we are continuing with further checks of our school estate over the summer months however we do not expect these to highlight any issues.”
A Scottish Government review found that ACM cladding had been used on 44 school buildings around the country.
But they sparked controversy by initially refusing to reveal the names of councils who were affected.
A spokesman for the government said: “Schools across Scotland are currently closed for summer holidays and all checks being carried out are precautionary to ensure building materials have been correctly used.”
Labour MSP for South Scotland Colin Smyth said: “It was astonishing that at first the Scottish Government weren’t even going to tell the public if ACM had been used in any public buildings and then spent a day refusing to reveal which council areas were affected and even now they just pass the buck to councils.
“As a South of Scotland MSP I’ve been contacted by councils in Ayrshire setting out the position in a briefing.
“Parents just want to know that before their kids return to school after the summer, all necessary checks have been carried out and building materials have been correctly and safely used.”