grenfell tower and new homes

They are not being offered homes in the luxury block. They are being offered homes in a nearby block of "affordable" housing

And the rents will be set at the rate they were paying in the Grenfe Tower block.

Grenfell

Who do you think is really going to be jealous of someone who has lost their home and everything in it in that dreadful fire? Lost family and friends?
What a sick idea.

I think the builders should be applauded. I was hoping that someone with sense and feeling would do that. I notice the council have relaxed all sorts of regulations on working time so that they can get them finished as quickly as possible.
120 families have been interviewed about their circumstances already.
We need another philanthropic developer in the area.

Ttravelsafar

From the Prime Minister :-

"In the longer term, everyone whose home was destroyed will be guaranteed a new home on the ' same terms ' as the one they lost."

I hope that answers your question.

Apparently there's a difference between "social housing" (to be rented like council housing) and "affordable housing" (to be bought at reasonable prices). I understood from what I'd heard that Grenfell Tower people were going to be offered "social housing" and not "affordable housing".

I think the block in question had originally been meant for 'affordable hoousing'.

I understood the block was always to be social housing. Note the plain brick exterior. There is a requirement in all developments to include a certain proportion of social houses and this block was part of that requirement.

While I am glad so many of the displaced families will be rehoused near home and with the same people neighbours, less the tragic losses.

But it is worth remembering that by allocating these flats to the Grenfell tenants, 78 other families on the housing waiting list who would otherwise have occupied these flats will now have to wait even longer, possibly a year or more, before they are decently housed.

What do you suggest, Monica?
Why is it worth remembering that?

There must be a lot of builders feeling worried at the moment. 7 towers clad in combustible materials already.
They can test 100 a day.

If the builders have used cheaper materials to those specified, I hope the book is thrown at them.

It is illegal isnt it? The government is only advising private landlords to look at their properties!! Bloody Tories cant get past their "property is sacrosanct" mantra

But Monica these flats are ones which have been newly bought, and would not have been included as available properties which could have been offered to people already on the list, so their position on the housing list is no diferent from what it was. The Grenfell tenants are a special case outside the normal list.

Perhaps some of the Grenfell tenants will not want one of these flats for some reason, so some may yet be available to people on the normal list.

durhamjenwhen i mentioned jealousy i meant among some of the tenants made homeless by the fire.

Maybe not to start with but further down the line if they are not offered such good quality housing then it may cause an issue.

Hopefully i am wrong, but sometimes with human nature the 'green eyed monster' can take over in the most insidious way

I don't think any of them will be jealous, from what I have seen.
If you want to see a proper community working together and helping each other, look at the Grenfell survivors.

Anyway, as I said, another property developer could easily do the same.
Duke of Westminster, for a start. He has plenty of property round there.

What a very odd thing to say MOnica - why is it worth remembering? We might ask why more social housing hasn't been built in the first place regardless of the fire.

And they are in the same area, so not taking them away from anyone else.
I think a family whose home has burnt down through no fault of their own should automatically go to the top of the list, don't you?

I'm quite sure those 78 families on the list will be glad they're not in the same situation as the Grenfell tenants and they'll be happy to wait to be housed,its often the people with the least money who have the biggest hearts

Maybe not to start with but further down the line if they are not offered such good quality housing then it may cause an issue.

travelsofar why would they be offered housing of a lesser quality in future - surely they will stay where they are being moved to unless they wish to move themselves?

Or do you mean other people who may not be accommodated there and may not be offered brand new housing? Is this the only development of social housing in that LA area or is there more which may become available before too long?

Sorry, I am a bit confused.

Isn't M0nica simply saying that although there has been a great effort made to house the tenants from Grenfell Tower (and rightly so) we shouldn't forget that there is still a terrible housing crisis in this country, particularly in London and very little effort will probably be made to house those people?

As I understand it, affordable housing is designed to be sold to those with lower incomes. In this instance the City of London Corporation has bought these affordable homes and handed them to Kensington and Chelsea Council to let and manage. - specifically for the Grenfell Tower families. Nobody on the standard waiting list should lose their place.

It is so good that this is happening and the survivors of this dreadful fire will be rehoused in decent accommodation sooner rather than later.

It is interesting how this can be afforded but not the extra few quid for the safer cladding. This has to be a lesson to all those in councils and the construction industry. Penny-pinching when lives are at stake is simply not on.

I am now going to make a political point and apologies to those who find that offensive. We should as a nation be investing in homes and infrastructure.

We should be building more social housing. The right to buy scheme should be ended. There should be investment in improving the infrastructure, roads, railways etc. This would create jobs. Alongside this the apprenticeship schemes should be expanded so we have a growing body of skilled trades workers to earn a living whilst working to benefit themselves and the country.
Like Luckygirl, I accept some will find my comments political.

Some people say that the survivors should not be forced to move away because they would lose their support networks. However, perhaps they could be given the option of moving elsewhere if they wish rather than seeing a constant reminder of the trauma they went through.

There is more space for housing outside such crowded areas of London.

Several websites, including the 'i' say the houses are “newly built social housing” and that an extra £10m has been found to complete and furnish them speedily. They are described as being 'bought by the government', presumably from the social landlord, understood to be the City of London who were building them. Social housing is social housing and the previous potential occupiers are on a housing list because they need social housing somewhere in the London area.

I do not begrudge the Grenfell tower survivors any one of those flats, I was merely suggesting that we should have some sympathy for the 78 families who would have occupied those flats who may have to wait much longer to get into decent housing.

It is fine for paddyann to say I'm quite sure those 78 families on the list will be glad they're not in the same situation as the Grenfell tenants and they'll be happy to wait to be housed,its often the people with the least money who have the biggest hearts

Well, it rather depends on the circumstances you are living in. Those 78 on the waiting list may well understand but if you are a single mother with several children holed up in one inadequate room in a B&B, possibly suffering from depression, to be told you will be there for another six months could bring you to breaking point and break your family, similarly if a family are living in a rat infested HMO, where the loos are too filthy to use.

I just think we should spare some sympathy for those who may have to continue to live in dreadful conditions longer because the homes they should have occupied are no longer available.

I never expected to read hard hearted and callous posts on GN, but there are at least 3 on this thread.