Concerns have been raised over the safety of twelve blocks of flats in Glasgow which were built using an outdated construction method. 

The residents of the flats are being supported by local housing organisation, Scottish Tenants Organisation who are investigating the possible dangers. Through a Freedom of Information request, the organisation discovered that the flats, which are situated across the west end and south side of the city, were built using a ‘large panel’ system. 

Scottish Tenants Organisations’ coordinator Sean Clerkin has expressed concerns that the buildings pose a potential danger to their residents, however, The Wheatley Group, the organisation responsible for the upkeep of the flats, strongly deny this claim. 

The Wheatley Group stated that a structural assessment was recently carried out on five of the buildings which discovered zero structural defects. Concerning the remaining seven buildings, they were unsure whether structural assessments had been carried out, but argued that there is no statutory requirement to do so. The firm explained that though there has been no work undertaken to strengthen the buildings, they had no reason to do so and none of the buildings required any “specialist investigation”. 

The buildings under investigation were built using a large panel construction method popular in the 1960’s due to its low price. The technique involved factory-made concrete panels being assembled on-site to hold the buildings together by their own weight. 

Sean Clerkin has argued for more thorough structural testing to ensure the twelve buildings are safe for their residents stating that the buildings need to be “strengthened or demolished altogether”. 

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