FLAMMABLE cladding, similar to what fuelled London’s Grenfell Tower inferno, has been found on Hunter Stadium’s western grandstand.
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The combustible cladding will be stripped from the exterior of the stadium, the home of the Newcastle Knights and Jets, to reduce the risk of a potential disaster.
Conceding that the government agency had known about the cladding risk for sometime, Venues NSW chief executive Paul Doorn said every effort had been made to ensure the safety of people using the stadium.
“This cladding is used for aesthetic appeal and is not part of the core structural elements of the stadium,” he said.
The safety of the stadium cladding has been under question since Venues NSW undertook a review of its properties in late 2017 as part of a state-wide audit by the NSW Government Cladding Taskforce that found more than 1000 buildings covered in the dangerous material.
The audit was in response to London’s Grenfell Tower inferno in June, 2017, which killed 71 people, as well as the Victorian Lacrosse building fire at Docklands in 2014, which tore through 13 floors in 11 minutes. Both were fuelled by the highly flammable polyethylene cladding.
It’s understood a report was received by Venues NSW in May 2018 detailing issues with the stadium grandstand cladding.
The government then began exploring options for how to deal with the problem.
When asked by the Herald in March last year if flammable cladding had been detected at the stadium, a spokeswoman for Venues NSW said “if any risks” were identified the organisation would “act appropriately”.
Mr Doorn said on Thursday that work was underway to find a replacement material. Once it had been identified, a timeline for the construction work and budget would be known.
“In late 2018, it was identified that combustible cladding present in McDonald Jones Stadium’s western grandstand would require replacement,” he said.
“While we are very proud of the look and feel of McDonald Jones Stadium, the safety of our patrons is our number one priority… A number of mitigation processes have also been implemented to minimise the likelihood of an incident occurring.”
The Herald reported in March last year that flammable cladding had been found on the John Hunter Hospital.
A $10 million project to replace it on the Royal Newcastle Centre and the Clinical Skills Training Centre was undertaken.
Problems arise when buildings are clad in either highly combustible aluminium composite panels, or expanded polystyrene that melts or ignites when exposed to an open flame.