Barratt has become the first major housebuilder to publicly declare that it has signed a Scottish Government-initiated agreement aimed at fixing unsafe cladding in buildings 11 metres high and taller.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said on Wednesday (31 May) that it signed the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord, a post-Grenfell initiative that was announced a year ago.
The commitment comes nearly six years after the Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died.
Under the agreement, the UK’s biggest housebuilder committed to resolve “life-critical fire-safety defects” in buildings 11 metres-plus that it had developed in 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 “in principle” agreement with some, but not all, of the UK’s 10 largest developers on cladding remediation.
Earlier this month, Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, also threatened to legislate if developers did not comply.
The Scottish Government has been criticised by Scottish Labour and campaigners over delays in making developers 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 pledge last year.
In a filing today, Barratt said: “We will work in good faith with the Scottish Government in order to support the remediation and/or mitigation of external wall-cladding systems, where identified through a fire-risk assessment, as required for in-scope buildings.”
The accord is not the final step in resolving cladding issues in Scotland. Developers and the Scottish Government still have to agree on a legally binding, long-form contract to tackle the problem.
In his response last week, McLennan said: “We will continue to engage with the remaining wave-one developers to address outstanding technical questions, and open discussions with the smaller and medium-sized developers on their responsibilities.
“We are continuing to explore legislative options to safeguard residents and homeowners.”
A total of 105 high-rise buildings in Scotland have been identified as having dangerous cladding.