LONDON — (AP) — The U.K. government on Friday announced plans to dismantle the remains of London's Grenfell Tower, almost eight years after the deadliest fire in Britain since World War II swept through the high-rise apartment building, killing 72 people.
Some of those who lost loved ones in the fire that broke out in the early morning of June 14, 2017, have criticized the decision because they wanted to preserve the building’s charred skeleton as a monument to those who died.
But the government said it would be unsafe to leave the structurally unsound hulk in place. While it acknowledged differing points of view, in essence it sided with those who have argued that redeveloping the site would help the community heal by removing the remains of the 24-story tower, which looms over the surrounding neighborhood as a constant reminder of the tragedy.
“Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down to the ground,″ the government said in a statement. Materials will be returned to the site so they can become part of a memorial that will be designed by an independent commission.
Grenfell Tower has become a symbol of government failure, corporate greed and inequality since the fire, which triggered an overhaul of building regulations across the country. Residents of the public housing project in North Kensington, a low-income neighborhood that is part of one of Britain’s wealthiest boroughs, say their safety concerns were repeatedly ignored by local government.
A public inquiry concluded that decades of failures by government, regulators and industry turned the building into a "death trap."
The investigation found no "single cause" of the tragedy, but said a combination of dishonest companies, weak regulation and complacent government authorities resulted in the building being remodeled with combustible exterior cladding that allowed a small refrigerator fire to spread rapidly, trapping dozens of residents in their homes.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who also heads the government’s housing and local government ministry, conducted a series of meetings with survivors and family members before deciding what to do with Grenfell, the government said. She met with them again on Wednesday to give them advance notice of the decision that was announced on Friday.
Grenfell United, which represents some of the bereaved, said it appeared that none of those who attended Wednesday's meeting supported the government's decision.
“Ignoring the voices of bereaved on the future of our loved ones’ grave site is disgraceful and unforgivable,” the group said in a statement.
But Grenfell Next Of Kin, a separate group for survivors of the fire, said the decision was “very sensitive and difficult” and its members “understand the hard facts around safety.”
The government said the process of dismantling Grenfell would take around two years so the job can be done sensitively. The work won’t begin until after the eighth anniversary of the disaster in June.
But the statement also made clear that there was little room for further discussion.
The tower was significantly damaged by the fire and has remained stable only because of additional props put in place to preserve it, the government said.
“The condition of the building will continue to worsen over time,″ it said. “Engineers also advise it is not practicable to retain many of the floors of the building in place as part of a memorial that must last in perpetuity.″
Equity for all the bereaved families also played a role.
“Taking the engineering advice into account, the Deputy Prime Minister concluded that it would not be fair to keep some floors of the building that are significant to some families, whilst not being able to do so for others and knowing that, for some, this would be deeply upsetting,″ the government said.
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