Kensington and Chelsea Council was told by one person who lost their home that their trauma has been disregarded
A group of residents living near Grenfell Tower on the night of the tragic fire say they are being excluded from the council’s rehousing schemes.
Kensington and Chelsea Council has implemented four rehousing schemes to help residents who were impacted by the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
However, a small number of residents living in Barandon Walk, Hurstway Walk, Testerton Walk, and Bramley House at the time, say they have not received adequate housing support.
The group of legacy cases, estimated to number fewer than 10, includes residents who were not covered by the council’s four housing schemes, which exclude private rented tenants, lodgers, and family members of tenants and leaseholders, housing association tenants, and council tenants living outside of the Lancaster West Estate and Bramley House.
One resident, who had been placed in Barandon Walk by another council, said they remain without stable accommodation eight years after the fire.
“I lost my home that night. I lost my community. The trauma has stayed with me for eight years. I am still receiving therapy for PTSD related to what I experienced,” they said in a report by Bramley Housing Association, which was discussed at a council Housing and Communities Select Committee on Wednesday (March 4).
“My trauma was the same, my experience was the same, but I have not been treated the same. I was accepted as a Core Participant in the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry because they recognised that I am a direct victim of the disaster. It has been deeply painful wondering why the council does not recognise my experience in the same way,” they added.
Councillor Claire Simmons, Chair of the Housing and Communities Select Committee, said that cases she had brought forward to the council have been “met with a closed door”. She added that their policy has not always felt “open door”.
The council has now encouraged ward councillors to come forward with any legacy cases for them to review on a case-by-case basis. It has been agreed that no blanket review will be undertaken by the council.
Residents who did not qualify for the Grenfell housing policies were already supported on a case-by-case basis, says Kensington and Chelsea Council. This included support through the homelessness pathway, prioritisation on the housing register, rehousing into an affordable private rented home and placement into supported accommodation where additional support needs were identified.
Thirteen individuals and families from the Lancaster West Estate and Bramley House have been rehoused to settled accommodation, as well as additional households from outside of the Lancaster West Estate and Bramley House.
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