FIRE FAMILIES REHOMED IN £2bn BLOCKS

Government spends £10m on 68 flats in Kensington

SURVIVORS of the Grenfell Tower inferno will be rehomed in part of a £2billion luxury complex in an upmarket part of Kensington.

Sixty-eight flats will be fasttracked to completion for former residents of the death trap block, the Government announced yesterday.

They will now live near multimillionaires in a sought-after complex which boasts a cinema, swimming pool and gym.

However, the survivors rehomed in the Kensington Row scheme – where penthouse apartments are being sold for up to £13million – will not have access to these services, the developers said.

Instead they will live in blocks of ‘affordable housing’ being built alongside. The one, two and threebedroom flats are built to the same standard as the private homes but have a lower internal specification. They were purchased at cost price – believed to be around £10million – by the City of London Corporation in a deal brokered by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The developers have hired more staff so work can continue round the clock, while extra funding has been found to furnish the flats so they are ready by the end of July.

The move follows growing anger at Kensington and Chelsea Council’s chaotic handling of the tragedy, in which at least 79 people were killed and hundreds were left homeless.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘Our priority is to get everyone who has lost their home permanently rehoused locally as soon as possible, so that they can begin to rebuild their lives.’

The scheme by developer St Edward – part of the Berkeley Group – in a joint venture with Prudential, is 1.5 miles from Grenfell Tower. The new flats will provide longer-term accommodation as hundreds of Grenfell residents have been temporarily placed in 249 hotel rooms without cooking facilities.

Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley said: ‘We’ve got to start by finding each of them a home. Somewhere safe and supportive, close to their friends and places they know, so they can start to rebuild their lives. We will work night and day to get them ready.’

HCA chairman Sir Edward Lister said the agency ‘stands ready to help all those affected by this terrible incident’. He added: ‘We are identifying suitable properties in the local area to rehouse residents as quickly as possible, as well as offering support to local authorities to run checks on any high-rise buildings.’

Alex Jeffrey, chief executive of M&G Real Estate, which manages Prudential’s property interests, said: ‘We are shocked and deeply saddened by the Grenfell Tower fire and are obviously relieved that we can help in some small way by providing homes of high quality within the borough.’

Jeremy Corbyn had called for empty luxury properties to be requisitioned to house victims, a demand rejected by ministers.