{"id":23515,"date":"2016-04-12T14:24:10","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T14:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=23515"},"modified":"2016-04-12T14:24:25","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T14:24:25","slug":"structural-faults-see-17-edinburgh-schools-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/building-control-news\/structural-faults-see-17-edinburgh-schools-close\/23515\/","title":{"rendered":"Structural faults see 17 Edinburgh schools close"},"content":{"rendered":"

Structural concerns have led to a number of schools across Edinburgh closing over safety fears\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

A number of schools across Edinburgh have been closed after the private consortium involved in the construction and maintenance admitted the safety of the buildings may be in question.<\/p>\n

The Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP) built the schools during the first round of public-private partnerships (PPP).<\/p>\n

The City of Edinburgh Council<\/span><\/a> ordered the schools to close following the identification of construction problems at Oxgangs and St Peter\u2019s primaries last week.<\/p>\n

Andrew Kerr, chief executive of the city council, said similar faults have been found at Gracemount High and Craigmount High schools.<\/p>\n

Speaking to STV News, he said: \u201cWe have been carrying out checks over the weekend, and we have found similar problems at Gracemount and Craigmount High.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are waiting for a full report but repairs will need to be carried out. Further inspections are taking place this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The schools were built by Miller Construction under the PPP contract. Other buildings under the contract were also inspected as a result of the findings.<\/p>\n

The firm was acquired by Galliford Try<\/span><\/a> in 2014, who expressed support of the precautionary closure of the buildings.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said: \u201cWhile the initial remedial work at Oxgangs Primary School has been completed successfully we have discovered an additional potential issue with the wall construction built by the former Miller Construction business in 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a responsible contractor with a proud reputation throughout the UK, we value the safety of the children, the staff and the community above all else and support the council\u2019s precautionary closures of those buildings that were also part of the PPP programme while further investigations take place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to work hard with our design team and all the stakeholders involved to remedy any issue that may arise during this further investigation as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Detailed structural surveys are underway on the schools and will continue this week, with ESP stating it will accept \u201cfull financial responsibility\u201d for resolving structural issues. It is thought this could cost several million pounds.<\/p>\n

An ESP spokesperson said: \u201cEdinburgh Schools Partnership will accept full financial responsibility for investigating and resolving these issues to ensure that each and every PPP1 school undergoes all necessary remedial work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kerr said: \u201cI sought assurances from Edinburgh Schools Partnership that their ongoing programme of inspections would give us the confidence to reopen our schools. I have offered to help them secure the necessary resources to complete this as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also reminded them of their contractual and financial obligations and want to assure Edinburgh residents that they will not be left footing the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of children and our staff is our main priority and I\u2019m simply not willing to compromise on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The closures will affect some 7,600 pupils. The schools involved are:<\/p>\n