THE lead counsel at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Richard Millet KC, said this in his closing speech: “There was nothing unknown or not reasonably knowable which caused or contributed to the fire or its consequences. 

“On the contrary, each and every one of the risks that eventuated at Grenfell Tower on that night were well known by many and ought to have been known by all who had any part to play.

“As a result, you will be able to conclude with confidence that each and every one of the deaths that occurred in Grenfell Tower on June 14 2017 was avoidable.”

As we approach the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14, we think about what has changed in the world to prevent another avoidable atrocity and unimaginable loss of life.

It has taken six years for the government to agree to hold a debate in parliamentary time on the numerous issues involved, but this year we’re told it will take place, and to that end I have coordinated a wide-ranging briefing for MPs and the press from 14 organisations and campaign groups.

I do this every year in the hope that it will help MPs to consider issues like rising insurance premiums on buildings whose safety is under investigation, cancers among firefighters, mental health related to trauma in North Kensington, supply chain issues, updates from RICS and commentary from the RIBA Expert Advisory Group on Fire Safety.

We need more expertise in Parliament on these issues, but in the meantime I hope this will broaden the debate.

As for the heavily scrutinised and still failing Kensington and Chelsea Council — under investigation by the police for corporate manslaughter — what are they doing to ensure the “exemplar council” they hope to become is attracting “good development”?

There are two sites coming forward for major development in coming years – the former Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre site, and Kensal Gasworks at the northern end of Ladbroke Grove.

The gasworks is coming up first. There are two developers for this site, Berkeley Group aka St William, and Sainsbury’s working alongside Ballymore. 

The prospect of Ballymore developing anything at all in the borough makes many residents’ blood run cold – Ballymore was the developer of New Providence Wharf, which had a terrible and very frightening fire in May 2021.

Residents I spoke to afterwards told me it was pure luck that the fire had broken out early in the morning when people were getting up, but if it had happened at night they feared some would have died.

They told me about the terrifying run down pitch-black stairs with no lights or ventilation, and how they were thinking about Grenfell as they all – luckily – were able to escape. And they told me about the disdain and lack of support from Ballymore afterwards.

Worst of all, they told me that they had been waiting for the remediation works on unsafe ACM cladding for two years, and that the building was supposedly being supervised by “waking watch.”

The smoke detection system failed, so doors that should have closed automatically remained open, enabling the spread of smoke.

The London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) preliminary report into the incident highlighted serious failures in the smoke ventilation system, while the external spread of the fire was facilitated by timber decking on balconies.

It has since published its fire enforcement outcome, concluding that it wasn’t able to find any offences committed under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Berkeley Group was the developer at Southall’s “Green Quarter” built on a former gasworks site. It has come under investigation recently for potential health issues possibly due to poor soil remediation as reported in the Guardian in April: “Scientists are to investigate the possible health impact of a luxury redevelopment project in Southall, which residents say is causing them breathing problems and mental confusion.

“Residents say the redevelopment of a former gasworks has led to a ‘petrol-like’ odour in the area and has caused multiple health problems.”

The study, to be conducted by scientists from Imperial College London, will involve about 50 chemical samplers being deployed around the area, in residents’ back gardens and on residents themselves. The scientists are also looking to collect blood and urine samples from people.

The study is funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s unit for chemical and radiation hazards.

So it would be true to say that neither developer has the confidence of the local population. 

The Ballymore site should be going to planning late this year or early 2024. It comprises 2,600 flats in a series of blocks, some reaching up to 30+ storeys.

In an earlier iteration these blocks were going to have just one staircase. A combination of government and local pressure however has forced them to reluctantly agree to government regulations for two staircases – this is presented as a major compromise for which we should be grateful.

The down side of this of course is that it has given Ballymore a perfect opportunity to reduce the number of “affordable” homes, from 35 per cent to just 20 per cent.

It would be polite to say that these proposals are unwelcome. But more accurate to say they are going down like a bucket of cold sick.

The traffic and transport proposals are actually bonkers. The whole site including the western end owned by the Berkeley Group (PTAL zero) is a peninsular site with one narrow entrance that is also to be the access for Sainsbury’s.

While continuing to pretend there is a possibility of a Crossrail/Elizabeth line station here (there isn’t), they are ignoring the current situation of traffic backed up five days a week from Ladbroke Grove station to the junction with Harrow Road.

To add to the insanity they are proposing a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the railway lines to the south, which – if it were viable financially or in engineering terms (it isn’t) would hardly be adequate for the potential 8,000 new residents there. 

The prospect of Ballymore’s plan to make their towers look like South Kensington mansion blocks is as offensive as it is out of place, and we need to set Michael Gove, who used to live five minutes away, onto this ASAP.

The masterplan is 10 years out of date, has no plans to account for climate change or indeed for the change of priorities and lifestyles of so many of us post-Covid. 

Everyone wants this site developed. But we want it developed for us. Low to mid-rise, high density, human scale, open green space. There are plenty of good examples out there. 

The location is within sight of Grenfell Tower in its shroud. To create a legacy for Grenfell they need to show respect, reflect, and come back with new plans that are less greedy, more climate friendly, and more people friendly. 

North Kensington has been through a lot. We’re not taking this one lying down.

Emma Dent Coad is an independent councillor in RBKC and former Labour MP for Kensington 2017-19. Her book One Kensington came out in paperback on June 8.