Lancefield Quay: I moved my family over flat fire safety fears

Abhijeet Kadwe owns one of the flats at the Lancefield Quay complex in Glasgow where fire safety issues have been identified

A father has told the BBC he moved his family out of a flat complex in Glasgow after fire safety issues were found.

Abhijeet Kadwe said he feared for his children's safety after learning that the Lancefield Quay flats had the same cladding as Grenfell Tower.

A 24/7 fire patrol has been put in place in the building by the Scottish government after developers failed to make improvements.

Mr Kadwe said he and other residents had "reached their wits' end".

• Fire patrol rolled out at flats amid safety issues

• How are the laws on cladding changing in Scotland?

• What happened at Grenfell Tower?

Fire safety risks were identified at the building following a single building assessment of the development as part of the cladding remediation programme.

It emerged that the building had ACM (aluminium composite material) cladding - the same material that caused the 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower to spread so quickly.

The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 72 people.

After learning this, Mr Kadwe moved his family to Anniesland last year.

Mr Kadwe with his wife Monica, 10-year-old Advay and seven-year-old Kiaan

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live programme, Mr Kadwe said: "It was a very hard decision quite honestly.

"It was only because I was really anxious and worried about the fire safety issue in the building. I was concerned about my family's safety more than anything else - with two young kids I thought that was a wise thing to do."

At the time of Grenfell, cladding regulations were already stricter in Scotland than the rest of the UK, due to legislation that had been introduced in 2005.

This followed a fatal fire at the Garnock Court tower block in Irvine in 1999.

Last year, the Scottish government committed to expanding the country's assessment programme for cladding on high-rise buildings to ensure residents were protected.

However, issues were raised around who would pay for any necessary replacements - the Scottish government, the developers or the homeowners.

Seventy-two people died in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which spread due to inflammable cladding

In December the Scottish government received a fire engineer's safety report which recommended a "waking watch" be put in place at the Lancefield Quay flats.

The report was shared with the developers Miller Homes and Cala Homes and despite urgent negotiations, an agreement has not been reached.

A letter sent to all residents has now said there will now be a patrol at the development which will remain in place until longer-term measures are rolled out, such as the installation of an integrated alarm system.

The Scottish government said residents would have 24-hour protection from the team of fire experts, with the aim of giving residents early warning if a fire breaks out.

However, Mr Kadwe said that even with a patrol in place, residents were still at risk.

"That is only a temporary solution," he said. "Even with the waking watch being here, the risk has not gone away. All it means is that we are better prepared for it."

A crew of fire experts will patrol the Lancefield Quay flats

Housing Secretary Shona Robison has urged developers to take responsibility for safety work on cladding, saying that negotiations are ongoing and the waking watch was a temporary measure.

However, Mr Kadwe said he and many of the residents were unable to sell their properties because banks would not lend on the properties under the circumstances.

"They are very frustrated and they have reached their wits end really because of the inaction by both the Scottish government and the developers here," he said.

"Everybody else is stuck in a similar situation as me. They want to sell their houses and move out but they can't. At the same time it's the financial turmoil they're in as well as the mental trauma."

'Committed to improvements'

Miller Homes said it had "engaged consistently and transparently" with the Scottish government, the fire service, surveyors and the property factor.

A spokesperson said: "In 2021, we proactively implemented an enhanced fire detection system in the development, in accordance with Scottish government guidance on fire safety.

"This guidance, which remains in place today, states that the measures installed throughout the development's communal areas and individual apartments, is a better practice solution than a waking watch.

"We have been and continue to be actively engaged with the Scottish government via previously well-established channels and remain committed to agreeing further improvements to this development."

Jennifer Wylie, regional chairperson at Cala Group, added: "Fire safety is of the highest importance in all buildings and we share the Scottish government's commitment to fire safety and building standards.

"With all parties working together, we expect to quickly address any fire safety remedial works required at Lancefield Quay."