Grenfell f ire cladding on 57 high-rises

CLADDING similar to that blamed for the spread of the Grenfell Tower inferno has been found on 57 private high-rise buildings in Glasgow – but officials did not tell residents, owners or the fire service.

Raymond Barlow, assistant head of planning and building standards at Glasgow City Council, said the Scottish Government had been made aware but action had yet to be taken because officials were gathering further information.

At a local government committee meeting at Holyrood yesterday, Mr Barlow refused to say how many buildings he believed to be affected but council officials later confirmed a total of 57 high-rises.

Around 80 people are believed to have died in the Grenfell inferno in London on June 14. After the blaze, the Scottish Government set up a ministerial working group which has found similar cladding in university buildings and hospitals.

But yesterday was the first time a council revealed there were highrises in Scotland which had the cladding – all of which were given building consent before May 2005.

Mr Barlow said a check on housing association flats in the city had not found any combustible cladding. He told MSPs: ‘Our research from then on was very much on private flatted developments, and that information we only managed to complete in the last couple of weeks, and I have passed it over to the ministers.’

Convener Bob Doris asked him: ‘So combustible cladding has been found in some private properties?’

Mr Barlow responded: ‘Yes, it’s just not public information yet.’

Conservative housing spokesman Graham Simpson said: ‘Don’t you think Glasgow City Council has a responsibility to the citizens of Glasgow, rather than a ministerial working group, if you have discovered this information?’