A government report has shown it is expected to cost £340million to preserve and maintain the ruins of Grenfell Tower and to “realise the vision” of a memorial.
The fire tore through the tower block in North Kensington on June 14, 2017, claiming 72 lives. More than seven years on the building remains standing, shrouded in protective wrapping.
An internal paper from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - uncovered by Grenfell Next of Kin - reportedly says £340million has been allocated to “manage the site safely”, and “deliver the vision” for a “fitting memorial”, the Telegraph reports.
The document reportedly says the “life cost” of “safely” managing the site and “realise the vision” of the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission “is £0.34bn”.
Kimia Zabihyan, a spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin, told the Telegraph she was “staggered” by the contents of the document.
“Nothing is happening,” she told the newspaper. “Nothing is going on. It’s just sitting there, standing there wrapped in this kind of white cover with a big banner at the top and, and, and everything is just static.
“It’s £340million. How do you justify this? You, you’re keeping a building standing for £340million that is not bringing closure to anyone.
“It is not helping anyone, neither the people that live below the tower nor the families for whom that site is a sacred site. It is where their loved ones died…They have not allowed the site to rest.”
It came as the long-awaited final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was due to be published on Wednesday.
The final hearing of the second phase of the inquiry, which examined how the tower block came to be in a condition that allowed the fire to spread, took place in November 2022.
The report into phase one, which focused on the factual narrative of the events on the night of the blaze, was published in October 2019.
It concluded the tower’s cladding did not comply with building regulations and was the “principal” reason for the rapid and “profoundly shocking” spread of the blaze.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - formerly the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - said: “We remain fully committed to supporting the Grenfell community and their long-term recovery.
"While Grenfell Tower and the memorial is a significant part of the overall programme, the funding also includes wider work to help support long-term recovery for the Grenfell community.
"The Government is responsible for keeping the Grenfell Tower site secure and we want to see a fitting and lasting memorial determined by the community."
