THE company at the centre of the cladding controversy on a Bournemouth block of student accommodation said it disagrees with aspects of the council improvement notice and will appeal.

Lansdowne Point, on Holdenhurst Road, contains ACM (aluminium composite material) which is a type of combustible cladding that was banned on high-rise buildings after the Grenfell tragedy.

During a visit in September 2019, inspectors found “remedial action” was required to address a number of issues on the 16-storey tower block, including concerns over the fire doors, sprinkler systems, emergency lighting and fire alarm system.

The leaseholders of the 393-bedroom complex, which houses a mixture of education providers including Bournemouth University International College, previously stated that some of the cladding covering the exterior is similar to that used at the Grenfell Tower where 79 people died.

A spokesperson for Kaplan Living Bournemouth said: “Prior to receiving the notice, Kaplan had already provided assurances to the council that we would be removing the ACM and HPL cladding.

“We disagree with various other elements of the notice. Kaplan is preparing, along with its relevant experts, an appeal.”

Kaplan Living Bournemouth said it could not discuss the contents of the appeal because it is a legal matter.

Kaplan also says a number of points regarding the “critical hazards” listed in the Improvement Notice “required clarification”. It said:

n Plans to remove and replace the ACM and HPL panels are well-advanced and a tender has already gone out for the works to be carried out.

n Three sprinklers were found to need repair and this was done at the end of 2019. There are many hundreds of sprinklers in the building. The emergency lighting was not tested during the inspection and is in good working order, it added.

n There are more than 600 fire doors in the property and 15 were identified as requiring refitting. These doors are currently being refitted.

n The gasket mentioned in the inspection report is a visual design element to the façade and not structural. Kaplan carries out regular visual inspections of the façade and makes repairs as needed.

Meetings were held on Wednesday during which Lansdowne Point residents met representatives of Kaplan Living and given the option to leave the building ahead of noise disruption as contractors remove the cladding.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service area manager Seth Why said the service was “satisfied that the current internal fire safety arrangements are satisfactory”. He said the service would continue to work with Kaplan Living Bournemouth and BCP Council, the lead agency for Lansdowne Point, to ensure the building continued to be safe.

“Following the Grenfell Tower fire, we have inspected all high rise residential premises across our service area," said Mr Why. "This included Lansdowne Point where our firefighters and control staff are familiar with the evacuation arrangements.”

He added: “Staff and residents will be aware that we have recently carried out live operational training at the building to test our emergency response and the buildings evacuation procedures.

“I am pleased to say that these training exercises were successful with effective partnership working between DWFRS and the on site management.

“The recent exercise is one of a series of programmed exercises across Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole designed to test emergency arrangements in high rise buildings. The Service is grateful to the Students of Bournemouth University for their assistance and patience on a rainy night to allow us to hold a realistic exercise on the building.”

Kaplan has 21 days from the serving of the notice to make their appeal to a Residential Property Tribunal.