Press release: Government announces next step towards long term future of Grenfell Tower site

The government has re-committed today (1 August 2018) to putting the Grenfell Tower bereaved, survivors and community at the heart of deciding what happens to the future of the site.

As part of this, the government has announced it will take responsibility for the Grenfell Tower site. It will make operational decisions, such as on the site’s safety, security and access arrangements, until the future of the site has been determined by the community. A formal agreement will be finalised in the autumn.

The Metropolitan Police have said they are preparing to release the site as a crime scene, ahead of this the government is announcing the next step on the journey to a fitting memorial.

As these arrangements are put in place, the site will continue to be managed by the independent Site Management team who have been in place since July 2017.

Led by Doug Patterson, Chief Executive of the London Borough of Bromley, the team is responsible for all aspects of the on-going day-to-day management, such as health and safety and security. This ensures the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) will continue to take no role in making decisions regarding the site.

The local policing team will continue to work closely with the Site Management team and patrol the surrounding area to protect the integrity of the site.

The Prime Minister has given her own personal commitment that the bereaved, survivors and wider community will lead the decision making process regarding the long term future of the site. This has been formalised in a set of written principles governing consultations on the future of the site and signed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, RBKC, Grenfell United and Lancaster West Residents’ Association.

The principles stated that the land will be transferred to a body represented by the bereaved and survivors once an appropriate body has been established and the site has been made ready and available for future use.

Further information

The government will take over the responsibility for the Grenfell Tower site from the autumn. As these arrangements are put in place, the site will continue to be managed by the independent Site Management team who have been in place since July 2017.

The council remain the legal owners of the site until the future is decided. They take no role in the management or decision making.

The Metropolitan Police have indicated they remain on schedule to release the site at the beginning of August as their police work at the Tower reaches completion.

There remains a need for core participants and expert witnesses of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to access the tower, which must continue to take priority.

No decision has yet been taken on the future of the Grenfell Tower site. The government will make operational decisions on the site, regarding the site’s safety, security and access, in consultation with relevant experts and public authorities whose priorities are responsibility for safety and security of the site, the health and safety of those working on the site and living in the surrounding area.

Nick Hurd, the Minister for Grenfell Victims, and Doug Patterson, site management lead and Chief Executive of the London Borough of Bromley, have committed to engaging the bereaved, survivors and the community on all matters relating to the Grenfell Tower site, including sharing information on technical aspects relating to the site management and process to bring down the Tower.