The collapse of a wall at an Edinburgh primary school last year was the result of poor construction and inadequate supervision, according to a report.

A total of 17 schools were closed across the city after around nine tonnes of masonry collapsed at Oxgangs Primary School in January 2016.

Industry expert Professor John Cole was chosen to conduct an independent report into the school closures. He interviewed a range of people, including representatives from those who built the schools, ESP, architects, structural engineers, parents, teachers and former and current Council staff from various departments. He also took evidence from professionals and experts in the procurement and construction industries.

In his 260-page report, Mr Cole concluded poor construction and inadequate supervision were the main culprits for the incident.

He said: "Given the widespread nature of the presence of the same defective construction which was the primary cause of the collapse of the wall at Oxgangs school, in terms of varying cavity width and lack of embedment of wall ties, the Inquiry can only conclude that those responsible for the supervision and quality assurance of this work either did not inspect the work adequately or did inspect it and failed to take appropriate action to have it removed or remedied."


Mr Cole also called for reforms to current standards of bricklaying in the industry, as well as quality assurance methods carried out by contractors.

"The Inquiry is of the view that, given the widespread nature of similar defective construction across the 17 PPP1 projects, undertaken by bricklayers from different sub-contracting companies, and from different squads within these companies, there is evidence of a problem in ensuring the appropriate quality in this fundamental area of construction," he said.

"The construction industry needs to re-examine its approach to the recruitment, training, appointment, means of remuneration, vetting, supervision and quality assurance of bricklayers."

Council Chief Executive, Andrew Kerr, said: "The report pulls no punches and makes clear what went wrong, the reasons for it and where responsibility lay. Clearly there are lessons for the Council and I will now be drawing up an action plan to take our recommendations forward to ensure everyone can have confidence in the safety of all of our buildings."

The council has already started a full survey of all buildings across the estate which will be complete by the end of the year. This will be followed by a five year rolling programme of regular follow up surveys.

(LM)