Scottish Tower Block

Claim of around £6m | Scottish matter

Background 

A Ridge fire engineering expert was instructed by solicitors for an architectural practice to carry out a desktop review of the design and installation of cladding panels on a tower block in Scotland that is over 18m in height. 

There was a concern that the cladding panels used, designed and installed some years before the fire at the Grenfell Tower, were similar or the same as those used at Grenfell.   

The Ridge expert was asked: 

• Whether the cladding on the property was similar to that used at Grenfell Tower; 

• Whether it complied with the applicable standards including those set out in the technical handbook intended to support the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004; and

• Whether the fire safety dossier was consistent with industry guidance at the time of its publication; taking into account what was generally known in the industry about the relevant cladding panels before the Grenfell Tower fire. 

The expert was therefore being asked both technical questions, and to opine on what the knowledge of the professional would have been at various points in the past, without the benefit of hindsight.  The expert explained that the fire performance of a cladding system is influenced by the materials and their arrangement as a whole, rather than the fire performance of individual components in isolation.  They also considered the guidance and regulations in place at the time of design, and what professionals had to do to meet the required standards.   

The expert produced a detailed expert report for the court and a joint statement.   

Feedback 

The matter settled before the main court hearing.  The solicitor appreciated the expert’s assistance and looks forward to working with them again in the future.