Auckland high rises with Grenfell cladding not 'inappropriate' - council

Auckland Council is "re-examining" its approach towards aluminium composite panels, after they were implicated in the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire in London.

The material has been blamed for several building fires around the world, including the 2015 Docklands blaze in Melbourne.

ACM (Aluminium Composite Material), also known as ACP (Aluminium Composite Panel), is made up of aluminium panels - often with a lower-cost, non-fire-rated polyethylene core.

Minister for Building and Construction Nick Smith told The AM Show that it's unlikely the cladding has been used in New Zealand high-rises.

However, the Auckland Council now says they have found two high-rise buildings clad with the flammable panels - but claim their use isn't "inappropriate".

"The council has carried out a survey and documentation review; we identified a number of buildings round the Auckland regions that interested," the council said.

"We have identified 90 buildings to date and reviewed 21 of them."

Dr Smith says the cladding shouldn't be used on high-rise buildings.

"It's relatively modern building material - it is suitable for low-rise buildings, it is not suitable for high-rise; that's why we moved on January 1 and banned it," says Dr Smith.

The Auckland Council says it has found "two privately owned buildings that are going through a cladding remediation process that currently have PE type cladding systems over 25 metres".

Both of these buildings are now being re-clad with fire-resistant cladding due to weather-tightness issues.

"To date we have found no evidence of inappropriate use of these products," the Council says.

"The events in London will continue to inform our work."

Newshub.