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Grenfell committee accuses RBKC of insensitivity over rehousing policy
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s (RBKC) draft policy for rehousing people who lived near Grenfell Tower came under attack last night at a meeting of the committee looking into the disaster recovery effort.
The RBKC Grenfell Recovery Scrutiny Committee was examining proposals on how to move former residents of Barandon Walk, Hurstway Walk and Testerton Walk – known as the Walkways – into permanent accommodation. The Walkways are located next to Grenfell Tower.
Under the suggested policy, tenants would not be given priority for rehousing while remaining in hotel accommodation provided after the fire – meaning they would either be required to move into temporary accommodation or back into their old home before being found a new place to live.
There are currently 161 households from the Walkways living in emergency accommodation.
Joe Delaney, committee member and Walkways resident, said the policy was “insensitive” to people too afraid to move back and was preventing people from rebuilding their lives.
And Labour councillor Judith Blakeman said: “What you’re actually saying here is that you’re bullying them, enforcing them, to go from their hotel into temporary accommodation which could be extremely unsatisfactory before they can be considered for rehousing, I mean that is grossly unfair.”
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The proposed system would also remove special priority if “a tenant declines two suitable property offers, either as a result of expressions of interest or direct offers”, subject to a review, raising fears that Walkways residents could be made intentionally homeless after this point.
Rob Shaw, acting head of housing needs at RBKC, said the proposals in the draft policy document “are not fixed points – if people don’t feel able to remain at home then they approach us”.
He said people would not be declared intentionally homeless.
Later in the session, a Walkways resident voiced fears that the policy’s offer to purchase leaseholders’ properties in the blocks at market value on 13 June would not be enough to allow people to buy another home in the borough.
In response, Mr Shaw said: “I think we need to go back and listen to leaseholders whether they are resident or non-resident.”
The draft policy will be subject to a four-week public consultation starting on 6 November.
Kim Taylor-Smith, cabinet member for housing and Grenfell response at RBKC, said: “We understand that many of these people will also be severely traumatised by what they saw that night – a critical part of the recovery process is to once again have your own front door. We believe that we have put forward a fair way to help people out of hotels and either back into their own homes, into temporary accommodation, or into a home in a different location.”
Update: at 12:42 31.10.17
The story was updated to include more information.
Update: at 18:46 01.11.17
The story was updated to include a statement from RBKC.
