Construction defects found at another 71 Scottish schools

Grant Prior 7 years ago
Share

Construction defects have been found on at least 71 more schools across Scotland following a wall collapse at Oxgangs Primary in Edinburgh.

Extensive remedial work was needed at Oxgangs Primary school when a wall came down in high winds due to inadequate ties
Extensive remedial work was needed at Oxgangs Primary school when a wall came down in high winds due to inadequate ties

The collapse in January last year led to the closure of 17 schools in the city while remedial work was carried out.

The main issues concerned the inadequate use of wall ties and poor construction quality

A BBC investigation has now revealed the extent of the problem across Scotland after councils were quizzed about defects discovered in their school buildings.

Problems were found in 71 more schools across 15 council areas.

Remedial work has been completed on most of them with repairs still ongoing at six sites.

Fears have now been voiced that construction problems could be present at other schemes built under the public-private partnership model used for the Edinburgh schools.

Glasgow had 23 schools affected, including 22 built through PPP programmes and one under design-and-build.

Elsewhere, there were five in Aberdeenshire, four in Angus, five in Argyll and Bute, two in Clackmannanshire, three in Dundee, four in East Lothian, two in Fife, three in Inverclyde, one in North Lanarkshire, 10 in South Lanarkshire, three in Stirling and three in West Lothian.

Prof Alan Dunlop, a fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and a visiting professor at Robert Gordon University, told the BBC: “The PPP financing process was not only used for schools, it was also used for hospitals and a number of public buildings, care homes, things like that.

“I’m wondering, if they found a similar problem in schools, are other things happening in other building type that have been used and building under PPP?

“And this is focusing primarily on wall ties and header ties – are there other elements of the building’s structure that are actually at fault? I find it difficult to believe it could only rest with wall ties and header ties.

“We have to review and re-think how we build these buildings, especially for our children.

“The only way we found out about Oxgangs was because the wall collapsed. If the wall hasn’t collapsed, we would never have been any the wiser – so we need intrusive surveys to find out just what on earth is going on.”

Ian Honeyman from the Scottish Building Federation said: “The fundamental point that has to be addressed is that people have to have confidence in the buildings that are being produced, and also be confident that people are safe when they’re living or working in them.

“I don’t think it’s something that can be tackled by one individual company or one individual organisation – I think it has to be done by a combination of all organisations and people involved in the construction industry to look at the fundamental things that have gone wrong here, and look at how we can address it as an industry rather than as individuals.”

Honeyman added the way construction work was signed off might need to be looked at.

He said: “The system itself in terms of the certification process requires ultimately one person to sign off a piece of paper called a completion certificate.

“Unfortunately there’s not one person involved in the whole project who is actually in a position that can do that, because it’s a combination of everybody – not one person can be on the site 24/7, see every piece of brick or steel or whatever else is put up, you can only be there so often.

“There are systems in place that are supposed to pick up these issues going through – but that relies on everyone in the chain to do what’s expected of them.

“And when things get missed, that can have an impact further down the chain, and ultimately I think that’s part of what’s happened here.

“I think the whole industry has to look at the system and manage the system better than we have, as it’s indicated at the moment.”

Latest news

Carpenter killed by falling timber frame panels

Court fines specialist contractor £8,000 after site tragedy
2 hours ago

Road sweeper specialist files administration notice

Go Plant lodges court notice
8 hours ago

Anglian Homes rides in to finish crashed Everest contracts

Rival doubled glazed window specialist commits to complete orders
7 hours ago

Final work starts to connect super sewer to London system

End in sight with 1.5m thick concrete wall to be demolished to link-up to Lee Tunnel sewer system
8 hours ago

Legal challenge launched against £1.5bn A66 dualling

Balfour Beatty, Kier and Keltbray must now await outcome of court challenge
8 hours ago

John F Hunt wins 24-storey Battersea tower

Specialist to carry-out demolition, enabling works and RC frame construction
1 day ago

William Hare wins steelwork on £500m Broadgate towers

Specialist to work on 2 Finsbury Avenue with McAlpine
1 day ago

McAlpine appoints MD to grow ventures business

Owain Thomas will build on private rental and healthcare development successes
1 day ago

BAM Co-op Live Arena opening delayed yet again

Another gig cancelled last night amid last minute safety concerns
1 day ago

National Grid unveils winners for £9bn network upgrade

New 'enterprise model' to deliver infrastructure schemes quicker and cheaper
2 days ago

Turkish insulation panel maker to build £45m UK factory

Assan Panel to open first UK plant at Freeport East
1 day ago

Expanding consultant Stantec swoops for Hydrock

Stantec UK business expands by a third as 950 staff join from Bristol-based engineer
2 days ago

Contractors wanted for £800m highways deal

Bids invited for Eastern Highways Alliance Framework 4
1 day ago

Galliford Try names group head of infrastructure

David Lowery promoted to Divisional Managing Director – Infrastructure.
1 day ago

Chigwell Group looks at stock market listing

Essex contractor registers as Public Limited Company
2 days ago

A57 Mottram Bypass clears final legal challenge

Balfour Beatty to get go-ahead to start shortly
2 days ago

100 jobs axed as Geoffrey Osborne confirms administration

Chairman Andrew Osborne calls it a 'sad day' as board loses fight for survival
3 days ago

Midgard set for Notting Hill office tower overhaul

Landmark project edges towards final approval after 10-year planning saga
2 days ago

Cumbrian civils firm clinches £40m Sellafield contract

Civils specialist Stobbarts will support McAlpine on groundworks and concrete
2 days ago

Designers named for London 2000-bed student rooms job

Bouygues will build £400m London School of Economics student scheme next to Tate Modern
2 days ago

£117m-turnover contractor files administration notice

ARJ Construction lodges court notice
3 days ago

£1bn London Blackfriars tower blocks approved

Trio of buildings rising to 45, 40 and 22 storeys approved by Southwark Council
3 days ago

Council decides to end Balfour deal after 13 years

Contractor has been maintaining roads across Herefordshire since 2013
3 days ago

Six civils clients to switch to low carbon concrete and steel

National Highways, Northumbrian Water and Sellafield sign fresh decarbonising pledge
4 days ago

Fortem extends homes repair deal across Birmingham

Willmott Dixon owned firm adds another two years to deal worth £170m
3 days ago

Kier wins £118m civil service Darlington hub

Work is expected to start towards the end of this year
4 days ago

Green light for 34-storey Digbeth apartments tower

480 flats will be delivered for Clarion housing association
3 days ago

LHC starts race for major retrofit and decarb framework

Hunt starts for firms to help with 6.1m social homes upgrade target
4 days ago

Windows giant Everest crashes into administration

Around 350 jobs at risk while hunt starts for a buyer to salvage business
4 days ago

Green light for £500m Newcastle health complex

Mixed use scheme will promote healthy living across all stages of life
4 days ago

Contractor services