GRENFELL Tower is set to be demolished years after the tragedy which claimed the lives of 72 people.
Bereaved families of the Grenfell fire are understood to have been told the tower block will be demolished.
Gary StoneBereaved families of the Grenfell fire are understood to have been told[/caption]
Ray Collins – The SunThe fire claimed the lives of 72 people[/caption]
EPAGrenfell Tower is set to be demolished[/caption]
Story Picture AgencyDeputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, met with relatives and survivors on Wednesday evening[/caption]
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, met with relatives and survivors on Wednesday evening.
A spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin, a group representing some bereaved families, said Ms Rayner had “announced the decision that the tower will have to be carefully deconstructed”.
Views have varied on what should happen on the site.
Some of the bereaved and survivors feel the tower should remain in place until there are criminal prosecutions over the failings which led to the fire.
The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.
The construction industry was also slammed for failing to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.
He said the “simple truth” is that all the deaths were avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were “badly failed” by authorities “in most cases through incompetence but, in some cases, through dishonesty and greed”.
Police and prosecutors said, in May last year, that investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026.
The near 10-year wait for justice has been described by families as “unbearable”.
The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September, concluded the disaster was the result of “decades of failure” by the government.
A shortlist of five potential design teams was announced last month, and a winning design team is set to be selected this summer.
The commission said it expects the memorial design to be sufficiently developed to enable a planning application to be submitted in late 2026.
In a previous update, the Government said structural engineering advice remained unchanged “in that the building (or that part of it that was significantly damaged) should be carefully taken down”.
In a 2023 report, the commission set out a series of recommendations for a “sacred space”, designed to be a “peaceful place for remembering and reflecting”.
It said the space should include a garden, a monument and a dedicated space for the private expression of grief and mourning for the families who lost loved ones.
What is left of the tower has stood in place since the fatal fire on June 14 2017 with a covering on the building featuring a large green heart.
The words “forever in our hearts” accompany it, to pay respect to those who were lost.
London News PicturesThe blaze engulfed the 27-storey building[/caption]
Rex FeaturesThe west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation[/caption]
London News PicturesThe deadly fire took place on June 14 2017[/caption]
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