Tab investigation finds student accommodation buildings across the UK are covered in Grenfell-style cladding

Combustible cladding made from the same material used at Grenfell tower is being removed from student accommodation blocks across the UK.

Aluminium-based Reynobond Polyethene cladding was fitted to Grenfell tower and has been widely blamed for contributing to the extent of the inferno that killed at least 79 people this month.

Now an investigation by The Tab has found that the potentially lethal material is fitted to student housing buildings all over the country. Several buildings housing thousands of students are under inspection and are subject to potential repairs.

Student accommodation buildings known to be dangerous are:

Bainfield halls of residence, Edinburgh

Home to 778 students, Reynobond PE was discovered on a quarter of the building’s walls.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Napier University said: “Work has already begun to remove and replace the cladding as a precautionary measure, and we are working closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to ensure it is safe to continue to use the building as normal.”

Byron House, Nottingham Trent

Byron House is one of Nottingham’s biggest halls of residence. Three of its seven blocks have been evacuated after Reynobond was discovered. The buildings around it contain the SU bar and club, the uni gym and several working and meeting areas.

A spokesperson for Nottingham Trent University said: “As a precautionary measure UPP and NTU re-accommodated a small number of remaining students in these blocks into alternative rooms while further tests were carried out to determine the exact version of this product.”

The Shield, Newcastle

Set to open later this year, The Shield is also covered with the cladding, but developer BAM said it had no plans to remove the material. While they are using the same Reynobond PE panels, BAM told the Chronicle: “The Shield has a very different fire safety profile from the Grenfell Tower and similar high-rise towers.

“Because it is too early to tell exactly what happened at the Grenfell Tower, we continue to monitor the advice from the local authorities, central government and our range of professional advisers as mentioned above.”

The building is not a Northumbria uni building but is just 10 minutes walk away.

A spokesperson said: “If [government] advice were to change as a result of any new developments then we would act on that”.

St. James’s Point, Newcastle

Privately-run St. James’s Point was built by Shepherd Construction and is fitted with Reynobond PE cladding, though a spokesperson insisted that the building is “designed, built and managed to the highest fire safety standards, which meet and exceed regulatory requirements in all areas.”

International College, Bournemouth

Completed in autumn 2015, the International College contains 392 beds and is showboated on Bournemouth University’s website as “the highest point in Dorset”, but is fitted with flammable cladding.

A Bournemouth University spokesperson said: “We are working with partners and completing checks on all our buildings, specifically looking at cladding.”