£30m earmarked for revamp of Grenfell Tower estate

THE Grenfell Tower estate is to have £30m invested in it after a cash injection from central Government was matched by the council.

An additional £15m has been earmarked for work on the Lancaster West estate, on which the fire-ravaged block still stands, Kensington and Chelsea Council said.

Chancellor Philip Hammond set aside £28m in the budget to assist with the fallout from the June 14 inferno, including £15m for the neighbourhood.

The local authority announced at a meeting on Wednesday a “visioning” exercise was under way with residents of the area and architects about the estate’s future.

Leader Elizabeth Campbell also pledged that all survivors of the tragedy, in which 71 died, would have new homes by June as tension ramped up over the speed of resettlement.

Those who escaped the inferno demanded “urgent action” yesterday after it emerged four out of five displaced families are facing Christmas without a proper home.

Almost six months on from the deadly blaze, in which hundreds were made homeless, 103 households from the block remain in hotel rooms. Another 11 are in serviced apartments and four are staying with loved ones, meaning 118 remain in emergency accommodation.

The local authority was accused of making “one broken promise after another”, having previously expressed confidence every survivor would be out of emergency rooms by Christmas.

Ms Campbell said on Wednesday: “I have always said we can only move at the pace at which victims and survivors feel comfortable: no one should be rushed into making such an important decision about where they are going to live.

“However, I do accept, as we have heard tonight and last night at scrutiny, for some the pace is painfully slow.”

Days after the fire Theresa May initially appeared to pledge that everyone left destitute would be in temporary new homes within three weeks. So far only 42 families have moved into permanent addresses.