Lakanal House to be brought back into use

Southwark Council is working with contractor Keepmoat and consultant Calford Seaden to refurbish Lakanal House - the Camberwell high-rise partially destroyed by a fire on 3 July 2009.

It intends to bring the building - which has been empty since the blaze - back into residential use. It will not build any additional floors on top, as had been rumoured.

The scheme will provide opportunities for other estate-wide improvements and there are plans to develop the cellar areas to provide facilities for local community groups and organisations.

A coroners inquest, which concluded in April last year, found Southwark Council had made a number of failings in the lead-up to the tragedy - including fitting panels that were not fire resistant in a refurbishment of the building in 2006/7.

Dayana Francisquini, 26, her six-year-old daughter Thais and three-year-old son Felipe, Catherine Hickman, 31, Helen Udoaka, 34, and her 20-day-old baby, Michelle, all died in the blaze.

Peter John, leader of Southwark Council, said: ‘This is a poignant moment in the history of what has happened in this part of the borough.

‘It is important to reflect on the impact that the Lakanal fire had on so many people, not least the families of those who died, but also on the community at the Sceaux Gardens Estate [where the building is located].

‘But now is the right time to move forward and it is good to see a really positive step for people living here, who have worked on this project for many months, and who can now look ahead to the tight-knit community expanding as new residents move in.’