High-rises '˜not clad' in Grenfell Tower material

Leeds, Hull, Bradford and Sheffield all have different types of cladding on their towered flats, it was confirmed.

At least 79 people were killed after a blaze ripped through 13 floors of the 21-storey block in the capital just over a week ago.

It today emerged that combustible cladding was found on at least seven blocks nationwide as urgent tests of around 600 clad blocks across the country got underway.

A Hull City Council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that the cladding used to refurbish high rise tower blocks in Hull is different from that used on Grenfell Tower; it is made of solid aluminium with mineral fibre based insulation which is non-combustible and offers a greater degree of fire protection.”

The authority is taking part in the Department for Communities and Local Government’s request to test high-rise buildings but reassured residents that this did not mean they were at risk.

“Even though we know that cladding used on our buildings in Hull is made of solid aluminium and is not aluminium composite, for the reassurance of our residents we are seeking to take advantage of these testing procedures and send samples from the cladding panels used for new build and high rise buildings in Hull.

“On this basis, residents should be reassured that the removal of panels is in order that they can be tested and does not indicate that there is a risk associated with them”.

Leeds City Council also distanced itself from the type of system used on Grenfell Tower.

When addressing the council’s Executive Board this week the director of housing and resources, Neil Evans, said that no Leeds towers featured cladding made with aluminium composite material.

He said: “We have 116 blocks in the city, 23 of these have been clad over the years going back to the 1990s.

“What we’ve been doing over the last few days is checking on all those cladding systems.

“None of the cladding systems we have used is comparable to the system that was used in London.”

He added: “We can give reassurance on that.”

Sheffield City Council also ruled out the cladding used on its blocks being the same as what was fitted on Grenfell Tower.

Incommunities, which runs all 30 of the social housing high-rises in Bradford, confirmed that “non-combustible rock wool cladding” has been used in the city.

Rotherham Council owns just one tower block and there is no external cladding on the building.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman yesterday said that a failed cladding test did not necessarily mean a building was unsafe.