YOU BENT THE RULES
Grenfell-style cladding on Scots towers axed amid fire safety concerns in 2013. But material deemed unsafe was used again after Holyrood intervention. Now whistleblower tells government..
TERRIFYING SIMILARITIES WITH BLAZE TRAGEDY FLATS
A multi- million- pound tower cladding project was almost scrapped amid fire safety fears – before the Scottish Government changed the rules and deemed it safe.
West Dunbartonshire Council were forced to suspend work adding controversial insulation panels to hundreds of homes in 2013, when they were feared to be a hazard.
But the local authority were spared from having to ditch the scheme when strict building standards regulations were “recategorised” by safety officials as being “low risk”.
An official West Dunbartonshire Council document discovered by the Sunday Mail revealed how the programme, which cost more than £ 25million, was saved by a late change to safety rules.
The project was handled by Glasgow- based Turner Facilities Management.
Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in London, there have been concerns that bending of the rules has made housing stock across the UK unsafe.
And it was only a rule change that allowed West Dunbartonshire to plough on with their insulation programme.
The cladding used across the council area is called Swisslab Grey EPS and produced by Alumasc. It is made of glassf ibre and polystyrene.
The panels used to refurbish Grenfell Tower, produced by Reynobond PE, were made of aluminium with a polystyrene core and are banned in t he US a nd Germany. Alumasc and West Dunbartonshire Council yesterday insisted the cladding used in their refurbishment project was safe.
But a whistleblower said: “It is concerning that West Dunbartonshire Council were forced to suspend work for months because their cladding wasn’t totally fireproof.
“Sites were shut down while the council were desperately seeking an exemption to the building standards to secure approval to let these substandard panels remain in place.
“This suspension in itself was extremely costly so would not have occurred had the situation not been extremely serious.
“But ripping out millions of pounds worth of the new works already installed was not a palatable option for the council.
“The Grenfell Tower f ire has everyone asking questions about cladding safety.
“And there are alarming parallels with how the obsession with meeting environmental targets contributed to the London inferno.
“The issue of safety on this West Dunbartonshire project was a showstopper until the standards were changed.
“Cladding that had been deemed a potential fire hazard was suddenly changed to ‘ low risk’.”
The work suspension in West Dunbartonshire is understood to involve cladding being f itted to multi-storey timber properties in Dumbarton and Alexandria.
West Dunbartonshire Council’s Housing News publication said in 2012 that 14 multi-storey properties in Clydebank and Drumry would get new cladding.
The project saw 900 properties receive the externa l wa l l insulat ion across the region including Dumbarton, Alexandria and Rosshead.
A counci l statement f rom Nov embe r 2 013 c on f i rmed insulation work had been given the green light to resume after new Government guidance had ruled them safe.
Housing issues are devolved to Holy rood but the Scot t ish Government often follows the same guidelines as the rest of the United Kingdom.
The press release said: “Insulation work is to begin again at council properties in the Dumbarton and Alexandria area af ter new guidance from the Government acknowledged the materials being used were ‘ low risk’ in terms of flammability.
“The council’s contractor had halted work at a number of properties after concerns were raised over a technical issue relating to the external wall insulation systems being installed.”
Our whistleblower added: “If something happens and doesn’t meet specification, the reaction is: ‘ We can’t rip it out. It’s really not that bad. Can we get away with it?’ It’s looking increasingly likely that what happened in West Dunbartonshire may have been repeated right across the UK.”
The Swisslab Grey EPS at the centre of concerns in the council area is an insulated render system and is f itted tight against the building.
The panels blamed for the Grenfell Tower inferno are a rainscreen cladding system and were separated from the bui lding by a small gap which acted as a chimney for the flames.
The council denied there was any rule changes when their cladding project stalled amid safety concerns.
A spokeswoman said: “This is wrong. There was no absolutely no rela xation of Government
The reaction is: ‘It’s not really that bad. Can we get away with it?’
regulations. The cladding used on our low-rise properties meets all fire safety regulations and is an entirely different product, differing in both its purpose and composition from that used at Grenfell.
An Alumasc spokesman added: “The system we supplied met or exceeded al l required building regulations and guidance including fire.”
Jackie Baillie, Labour MSP for Dumbarton, said she was calling on the council to hold an urgent inquiry into the matter.
She said: “I would want the council to have a very urgent investigation into the blocks concerned to ensure that they are absolutely safe.
“This needs to be done quickly to provide reassurance to people.
“I would be frankly horrified if standards were reduced in order to complete a project that may put people’s lives in danger.”
Tower block resident Jimmy Gillespie, 61, has been campaigning for the council to remove cladding amid safety fears.
He said: “I keep being told I’ve nothing to worry about but the victims of Grenfell were told the same. The cladding may be categorised as ‘ low risk’ but what happens if a fire gains momentum?
“I won’t be the only person who’s concerned now.”
Hundreds of people gathered in Glasgow’s Buchanan Street yesterday to show their support for the London victims.
The event featured speakers and banners, with one displaying the message: “Glasgow stands with you.”