Barratt has become the first major housebuilder to publicly say it has signed up to a Scottish Government-initiated deal to fix unsafe cladding on buildings 11 meters tall or more.
The FTSE 100-listed company said today that it has signed up to the Scottish Safer Buildings Agreement, a post-Grenfell initiative. which was announced a year ago.
The commitment comes almost six years after the Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died.
Under the deal, the UK’s biggest housebuilder pledged to address “life-critical fire safety defects” in buildings over 11 meters that it had developed over the past 30 years in Scotland.
The announcement comes just under a week after Scotland’s Housing Minister Paul McLennan revealed the government had reached an agreement “in principle” with some, but not all, of the 10 biggest developers in United Kingdom on the repair of coatings.
Earlier this month, so did the First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf threatened to legislate if developers did not comply.
The Scottish Government has been criticized by Scottish Labor and campaigners for delays in getting developers to deal with blocks that have dangerous cladding. In England, housing secretary Michael Gove has led an effort that has seen 48 developers sign a legally binding contract, following an initial commitment last year.
In a presentation today, Barratt said: “We will work in good faith with the Scottish Government to support the repair and/or mitigation of external wall cladding systems, where identified through a fire risk assessment , as required for in- scope buildings”.
The deal is not the final step in solving relining problems in Scotland. Developers and the Scottish Government have yet to agree a legally binding long-term contract to tackle the issue.
In his response last week, McLennan said: “We will continue to engage with the remaining first-wave developers to address outstanding technical issues and open discussions with smaller and medium-sized developers about their responsibilities.
“We continue to explore legislative options to safeguard residents and property owners.”
A total of 105 high-rise buildings in Scotland have been identified as having dangerous cladding.
