Council allays safety fears as review shows new Barrhead High has cladding similar to Grenfell Tower

COUNCIL chiefs have insisted there is no cause for concern after it was revealed six school buildings in East Renfrewshire have a similar type of cladding as that used on Grenfell Tower.

A review of building and fire safety in Scotland has recently been carried out following the Grenfell fire in London on June 14, in which at least 80 people are believed to have died.

As part of these checks, Barrhead High’s brand new £29 million school, Eastwood High, Woodfarm High, Williamwood High, Mearns Castle High and the joint St Claire’s/Calderwood Lodge faith school campus in Newton Mearns were all found to have Aluminium Composite Material (ACM).

ACM is lightweight material designed for interior and exterior applications and its use is said to have been a contributing factor in the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Under Scottish building regulations, the type of ACM reported to have been used on Grenfell should not be used in cladding on high-rise domestic properties but can be used “appropriately” on other buildings.

However, a spokeswoman for East Renfrewshire Council (ERC) has issued assurances to parents over the safety of local schools.

She said: “Following the tragic event at Grenfell, we took the decision to assess all authority-owned buildings, including schools, residential properties and public buildings.

“We have compared our buildings to the construction risk factors that have been identified at Grenfell and have not identified any cause for concern with any of our properties’ cladding.

“None of our buildings use the type of ACM cladding reported to have been used on Grenfell.

“Six of our low-rise schools, none of which are above 18 metres in height, have a different form of ACM cladding and all are installed in accordance with the relevant technical requirements and meet stringent national building and fire safety regulations.”

The spokeswoman added that all schools are designed with smoke and fire detection systems, automatic sprinkler systems, multiple fire exits and have well-rehearsed fire evacuation procedures.