DOZENS of prominent Scottish buildings - including the Glasgow Science Centre - are to be inspected amid fears they may contain a similar cladding to that which fuelled the Grenfell Tower blaze.
A total of 38 sites will undergo a series of inspections amid fears they were constructed with "flammable" materials, including its insulation.
The safety check will cost as much as £120,000 to complete with all the buildings concerned owned by economic development agency Scottish Enterprise.
Lomond Shores in Balloch is among those to be examined, along with Conference House in Edinburgh, Fife Energy Park, and the Alba Innovation Centre in Livingston.
A handful of buildings in East Kilbride, including the James Young Building, also feature along with sites in Stirling, Livingston, Larbert and Gourock.
A spokesman for the Glasgow Science Centre say they have already underwent a separate inspection and none of the materials believed to have propagated the Grenfell Tower fire were present.
The news comes as aluminium composite material (ACM) – which has been highlighted as a contributing factor to the loss of life at Grenfell – was discovered in some form in a number of buildings in Scotland.
Last month it was announced the "combustible cladding" was found at 57 high-rise properties in Glasgow, though the city council said there was "no suggestion that these buildings are a particular fire risk".
ACM was also found at hospitals in Glasgow and Edinburgh; however, officials from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service say the buildings are safe.
The discoveries were made as part of pro-active checks carried out by the Scottish Government. Their initial remit was to cover high-rise structures, where fire evacuations are more complicated, but extends to cover a range of building types.
Elsewhere, firefighters were also carrying out "regular site visits" to blocks of flats in Glasgow over fears about the building materials.
Two properties at the Glasgow Harbour development on the banks of the River Clyde were checked "every four hours" as residents say the roof and lifts of the upmarket properties near Partick are causing concern to the fire service.
Scottish Enterprise is currently inviting companies to bid for the inspection work, which is estimated to cost no more than £120,000.
A line from the agency's invitation to tender notice read: "Scottish Enterprise require the testing of all buildings which have been identified as having some form of cladding either on the roofs, or walls or both and to identify the general construction/materials of the building façade and roof and determine if any of the cladding materials including insulation are flammable."
No one was available from Scottish Enterprise for further comment.
A Scottish Government spokesperson added: "The Building and Fire Safety Ministerial Working Group is overseeing a review of building and fire safety regulatory frameworks, and any other relevant matters, in order to help ensure that people are safe in Scotland's buildings, and make any recommendations for improvement as required.
"The initial focus of the group is high rise domestic buildings. The group will also consider other buildings including housing, NHS estate, schools and prisons.
"Building owners are responsible for the safety of their own buildings, and would be expected to take action to make them safe."
A spokesman for the Glasgow Science Centre said: "Following the Grenfell Tower fire we contacted the main cladding contractor for Glasgow Science Centre, Lummel (the sub-contractor) and the main building contractor Buro (the main contractor on the GSC build) as an independent advisor to determine the material composition of the cladding on Glasgow Science Centre. We understand that the Grenfell case was a result of polymer-backed façade elements and the use of glass fibre insulation which fed the fire in connection with a lack of fire barriers between floors. We can confirm that no such material has been used in the cladding for the Glasgow Science Centre."
In June, a fire broke out in the Grenfell Tower in London, killing around 80, and leaving hundreds of families without a home. The ACM cladding used on the exterior of the 24-storey building is believed to have accelerated the spread of the blaze.
A independent review of building regulations and fire safety is currently ongoing and a full report is expected to be submitted to ministers next spring.
Investigators are currently on site, with scaffolding recently put up alongside the housing block so that white sheeting can be put in place, floor-by-floor, to shield it from public view.
Remnants of the cladding system will also be stripped back and taken away for examination by investigators.
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