WEST Dunbartonshire Council has demanded they are not “penalised” for carrying out changes to high-rise flats in the wake of the Grenfell fire tragedy.

Councillors and local authority officers were discussing the need to carry out minor changes to high flats throughout West Dunbartonshire in order to avoid any similarities to the London building which went on fire last June, causing the death of at least 71 people.

Peter Barry, strategic lead for housing and employability, said the council should be helped and “not penalised” for taking steps to ensure its buildings were completely safe after the blaze.

He told last week’s housing and communities committee: “We only identified these challenges because of the seriousness of Grenfell.

“I think we need help with this. It’s a unique, unforeseen challenge and we shouldn’t be penalised for doing the work.”

Committee chair Councillor Diane Docherty confirmed a letter had been sent to the Scottish Government – although the contents of the letter are unknown – and she was going to “wait and see and take it from there” once the government responded.

The council commissioned an external expert to conduct comprehensive fire safety assessments of the 22 flats in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire year.

The consultant recommended that the panels below each window in 11 of the blocks across Clydebank should be replaced.

Work is underway to identify alternative panels and the removal and replacement programme will begin as soon as possible.

The comments came as councillors and housing officers agreed their aims for the More Homes Better Homes Strategy.

Mr Barry said: “The issue here is that we have a significant estate and it’s important we are careful and mindful about its management.

“Our ambitions continue to grow around what property standards should look like.

“Our homes should be homes of choice. We want to get to the point where people choose a council house because it offers more.”

He added: “It’s about looking at the demographic of our community and how that changes.

“The public is getting older, living longer and living with disabilities.”

Elected officials were asked to approve a draft of the housing asset management strategy and commit to annual progress reports from officers.