Grenfell Tower

A professor of fire and structures at the University of Edinburgh has published a new report which details the flaws with the government’s former safety research and testing body that ultimately led to the death of 72 people following the Grenfell Tower fire five years ago today

As developers south of the border commit millions of pounds to address life-critical fire-safety issues on buildings higher than 11 metres, the Scottish Government looks set to ban the use of combustible materials on all new residential and ‘high-risk’ buildings above the same height.

A groundbreaking film that explores the construction industry’s response to the Grenfell Tower disaster has been produced by a cladding firm with strong roots in Scotland. Made to encourage more open debate within the industry, the 20-minute documentary features Cumbernauld-based MSP Facades,

Bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell fire say the timing of when the tower is demolished needs to be decided by them and not the government. The Sunday Times said ministers are set to announce the demolition of the tower amid safety concerns, adding structural engineers have "unambiguousl

Four years after the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower, BLM partner Shirley Wyles lays out the legal landscape regarding fire and smoke alarms in Scottish homes. While the catastrophic blaze that ripped through Grenfell Tower in the early hours of 14 June 2017 with the loss of 72 lives is the subje

Andrew Tolmie and Stefanie Johnston outline the current legal landscape in Scotland regarding who pays the remedial works necessary to bring residential buildings into line with new fire safety standards. On 14th June 2017, a fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block in west London, causi

Rosie Gollan, an Edinburgh-based solicitor at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, looks at the Building Safety Bill and its implications in Scotland. Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the UK Government has been reviewing and taking steps to reform our building and fire safety regimes. 

The UK Government's plans to ensure trade can be carried on unhindered in each of the four home nations once the UK severs its ties to the EU will weaken Scottish building standards designed to prevent Grenfell-like disasters, a leading architect has warned. Peter Drummond, a senior member of the Ro

The UK Government should relax its ban on combustible cladding imposed after the Grenfell Tower fire, according to a housebuilder. Berkeley Group has argued that tall buildings that feature the same type of aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding involved in the disaster, which led to the deaths

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has been suspended until further notice due to the coronavirus crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tightened restrictions on social distancing, and the advice for the over-70s to self-isolate until further notice, meant the continuation of the inquiry became impos

Katherine Metcalfe compares building safety regulations north and south of the border. The UK government announced last month that a new building safety regulator for England, under the auspices of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), will be formed as part of a package of measures to improve high

Trainee solicitor at Jones Whyte Law, Lauren Hazlie, provides information on high rise cladding and what people should be aware of when looking to buy or sell a property which has inappropriate cladding. Over the past couple of decades, a number of high rise buildings in the UK have been built with

New guidance has been published to reduce the risk from fire in specialised housing, such as sheltered and supported accommodation.

The American firm which manufactured the flammable cladding panels used on Grenfell Tower has spent $40 million on legal and advisory fees linked to the incident, it has emerged. In its fourth-quarter report released this week, Arconic revealed that it has forked out $2m on Grenfell advisory fe

Housing minister Kevin Stewart has called for urgent action to resolve an issue which has seen homeowners unable to sell or re-mortgage their homes following the publication of cladding advice from the UK Government.