London Grenfell disaster, Conservatives don’t learn from it

This BBC video from London, England says about itself:

5 September 2017

Helen Gebremeskel and her daughter Lulya lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower. Hear their harrowing account of how they escaped from the fire and about their struggles to find a new home.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Grenfell fire council ‘fails to tackle rising housing crisis’

Thursday 23rd November 2017

A HOUSING crisis is deepening in Kensington and Chelsea, where nearly 2,000 people are living in temporary accommodation across the inner London borough.

Opposition councillor Linda Wade accused the local authority yesterday of burying its head in the sand as it continues to build up cash reserves and ignore concerns over the depletion of the borough’s housing stock — which included the Grenfell Tower until June’s deadly fire.

She issued a warning over the growing number of applications for houses in multiple occupancy (HMO) being rejected by the council, given that there is a lack of alternative accommodation for residents.

A rise in the number of properties being converted from HMOs to studio flats is depleting housing stock in an area of high demand, she said.

Ms Wade, a Liberal Democrat, tore into the Conservative-controlled council for its lack of investment in social housing “going back for years” and said many of the new studio flats fell short of size requirements stipulated in the London Plan.

“We have 1,900 people living in temporary accommodation in Kensington and Chelsea. A council’s main responsibility is to its residents, not to stockpile money.

“Some people have been in temporary accommodation for 17 years,” she claimed.

She voiced fears that hundreds could be made homeless as a result of the council’s failings.

In the wake of the Grenfell tragedy it was revealed that Kensington and Chelsea had reserves of around £274 million and had offered a rebate to those paying the top level of council tax.

Ms Wade welcomed the council’s purchase of properties on the open market to house the survivors of the Grenfell Tower blaze, but she said that the measure did not solve the borough’s shortage of affordable homes.

The majority of those who survived the fire have still not been permanently rehoused, despite government promises that they would have new homes within weeks.

“The council need to recognise that more than one type of person lives in Kensington and Chelsea,” Ms Wade stressed. “Many of those on low incomes rely on this type of housing. They won’t even get onto the housing waiting list, which has been capped at 2,500.”

She said she had written to council leader Elizabeth Campbell on the issue but received no response.

“Everything we predicted would happen has happened. The local authority is playing ostrich. This is management by remote control,” she said.

Ms Wade called for an urgent overhaul of the council’s housing strategy and the creation of a plan to invest in affordable homes.