Aberdeen flats first in Scotland to have dangerous cladding replaced
The Aurora Apartments in Ferryhill were listed as 'high priority' to have fire-risk cladding removed
Last updated 24th Jul 2024
A block of flats in Aberdeen has become the first in Scotland to have dangerous cladding removed following the Grenfell Tower fire.
It's part of a Scottish Government pilot scheme which was set up following London's Grenfell tragedy in 2017 which claimed the lives of 72 people.
Extensive construction work was carried out on the Aurora Apartments located on Polmuir Road in Ferryhill.
The nine-storey building was one of several in the country identified as 'high priority' by the pilot programme on remediation of dangerous cladding.
Wall cladding and insulation materials, both of which were combustible, were removed and replaced with fire safe non-combustible products to eliminate the risk of fire spreading over the outside of the building.
All residents in the 22 flats were able to remain within their home whilst the specialist work was carried out.
The work was funded by the Scottish Government and carried out by Diamond & Company (Scotland) Ltd Chartered Building Surveyors and Chartered Fire Engineers.
Phil Diamond, Managing Director, said: “The Grenfell fire exposed a systemic failure in all aspects of cladding installation in buildings throughout the UK.
“The completion of the work on the Aurora apartments in Aberdeen now provides an industry blueprint on how to make similar high-rise buildings much less vulnerable in the event of a fire.
“The residents in the Aurora apartments should sleep soundly at night now, knowing their building is much safer.
“The new non-combustible cladding is the highest standard on the market, stopping any fire from spreading over the outside of the building.
“If there was a serious fire in one of the flats it would not be able to spread over the outside of the building because the cladding is non-combustible, meaning there is no energy for the fire to feed off.
“It was an extremely challenging project which involved opening up the building and removing the timber support frame and other combustible materials."
The Scottish Parliament passed legislation in 2022 that banned the use of combustible materials on the outside of all new residential and other “high-risk” buildings taller than 11m.
The new legislation also applies to recladding works on some other buildings, including the Aurora Apartments.
10\5 buildings have been identified by the Scottish Government to have the dangerous cladding removed.
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