Grenfell Tower to be demolished.

[AnAlpacaForChristmasPleaseSanta]

News - Grenfell to be demolished, bereaved families told www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5g99xy979o BBC News - Grenfell to be demolished, bereaved families told www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5g99xy979o

I can understand why some people want it torn down and a nice memorial there instead. But I also see why some want it left as it's a final resting place to so many.

Agreed. But this particular burial site is not like regular land. It’s more akin to the mass grave found at Liverpool Street when they dug the tunnel for the Elizabeth line. They had to go round it in the end. The government committed huge atrocities for those with poor mental health right up until 1993, and buried “paupers” 12 deep in pits which were often opened when it rained. It’s not even the same as building on a normal cemetery.

Grenfell is particularly special in the same way. It’s not like regular land that can be repurposed, it means something to people.

It’s actually 9000 people buried, I just checked the figures. Just forgotten and their bones seen as a nice area for a new little estate.

hortoncemetery.org

We mustn’t forget Grenfell either.

Is it structurally safe to leave up?

Good quality, safe, social housing with a pocket park/ memorial garden would be the most fitting long term tribute.

I live very near Grenfell Tower. I think it’s an eyesore, costs too much to maintain and needs to come down BUT:
There are still no plans for a proper memorial.
No one had been charged
There are still buildings with unsafe cladding.

BTW the footprint of the building is fairly small and it has buildings are around it. For that reason alone housing on the site is unsuitable. I would support a garden/community space.

I'm more surprised that it's still standing really. I don't see how preserving a burnt out tower block helps anyone.

It's not a memorial, it's a building that burnt down in horrible circumstances and many people died. Why preserve that?

It's time to move forward. Build something good there that provides safe, comfortable housing for local people. Create a proper, fitting memorial such as a garden or rows of trees as a tribute to those that died and to ensure what happened isn't forgotten.

You don't keep a wrecked car that someone died in or anything else like that. Why keep the horror of this building?

No one had been charged
There are still buildings with unsafe cladding.

Neither of those things is a reason to leave up an unsafe building though. Charges will apparently be brought in 2026 (why the huge delay I don't know) and cases go to court in 2027. Leaving up an unsafe building for a further two years simply so court cases can be brought though makes no sense.

And probably rat ridden.

I agree - it can't stay there forever. If it's not maintaned it'll fall down itself eventually, and possibly affect even more lives.

Build housing there, seriously. London has a housing crisis.

Add a plaque to remind us all what happened there.

I think half the problem was the awful way it was handled. The Government must have known this was a controversial decision so it should have been handled much more respectfully. The families should have been listened to - lets face it that is a key issue across all of this, no one listening to the families, so surely for a memorial that would have been a critical point. The outcome would likely have been the same given the structural issues but at least the families would have had a chance to have their say.

I can't see why no one being charged is a reason for it to stay.

Yep, the govt knew this would be controversial, and that's why, I suspect, the Conservatives didn't touch it with a barge pole! There are reports in the news today that Angela Raynor made the announcement in a meeting with some Grenfell families present and when challenged by how many survivors/families of the deceased they had consulted before making the decision, she wouldn't answer and ended up storming out of the meeting. Not a good look really!

However, I do think all this 'consultation with the families' is OTT. There was a huge enquiry which cost £173 million, they all got to have their say, and there has to be an end to it. The building needs to come down and the site be redeveloped. Did some of them honestly think that a hulk of collapsing burnt concrete would just be left there indefinitely in memory of their loved ones?

This

Yes, I'm not sure how kind 'consultation' would be, in that situation. If there are some of them who want it to stay up, they cannot have what they want. Because it's a fundamentally bad idea, however understandable their reasons are.

So it would either involve misleading them about the weight that would be put on what they had to say in any consultation process, or telling them straight that it would be done regardless. In which case they're hardly likely to want to engage anyway. Agree this is probably why the Tories kicked it into the long grass.

The building should come down and be redeveloped as affordable housing. It doesn't mean the people who died there are forgotten. But keeping it as a shrine makes no sense.

It simply isn't possible to let stand indefinitely as it is unsafe. I'd take it down and create a garden in its place.

I lost a work colleague in the fire. Personally I think it should come down, but can totally understand why others want it to remain,

Of course it needs to Come down. It’s too risky and costly to retain and could be used for much better purpose. A plaque is sufficient.

Your username makes total sense

Absolutely crazy IMO to keep it there as a burnt out derelict building.

Utilise the space for something positive.

TBH - what the local community really needs is more housing, albeit I don’t think they’ll be able to build that.

Make it a park or something.

It's not safe to leave it up. Once the elements start degrading the structure the locals are at risk.

They need to build a community space / memorial garden and some low level family homes in the space.

One of the issues with where the Grenfell block is situated is that it's crammed in an awkward to reach corner. Some of the fire engines had trouble getting close enough.
The space really isn't big enough for a replacement block and for it to be safe.

This! We drive past it a couple of times a year and I always think they need to bloody get on with taking it down.

Indeed.

And Most of the blitzed City of London would still be unbuilt on if we had followed that rule. Plus Hull. Coventry. Berlin. Hamburg.

From what I understand is that it’s currently safe to work and live in the local area however the tower can never be used again and will only deteriorate over time. Unfortunately it sounds as if whether now or in the future that it will have to be demolished for safety reasons eventually.

I sympathise with those who lost loved ones there and it may feel like if the tower is destroyed the memory of what happened will also be lost.