MSP COLIN BEATTIE WELCOMES MIDLOTHIAN COUNCIL’S CLADDING CLARIFICATION

​Today Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, welcomed the news from Midlothian Council that it does not use the cladding that was in place at London’s Grenfell Tower.
Mr Beattie wrote to Midlothian Council following last week’s disastrous fire in London, which so far has seen 79 people dead or missing presumed dead and many more unaccounted for.
Midlothian Council confirmed that, aside from Midlothian not having any tower blocks or high rise domestic properties, the cladding used in Grenfell Tower is not a product the Council currently uses in any of its housing projects.
The Council also confirmed that the external wall insulation to its low rise domestic properties has been using a wet dash finish over an insulation board which has differing fire resistance qualities to that used in Grenfell Tower.
Finally, the Council stated that all of the insulation programme has been subjected to independent Building Standard approval.
Mr Beattie said:
‘The fire at Grenfell Tower is one of the worst crises to occur in modern history. The true scale of needless deaths will probably never be known.
‘My thoughts are naturally with loved ones and friends and relatives of anyone affected by the fire, and I’m sure everyone throughout Midlothian and all across Scotland feels the same way.
‘If nothing else, the people of Midlothian can now be reassured that the disaster in London is very unlikely to happen here. I appreciate the swift response from the Council to my letter, and we can only hope that the Council’s high standards are being met by other public bodies across Scotland and the UK.’