Grenfell Tower - a visit

I was in London over the weekend, so went and had a look at this. It's cordoned off as a crime scene, so the ghouls, media and souvenir collectors can't get too close. But in a very understated British fashion, viewing points are provided where people can gather their thoughts, chat quietly and pay their respects. There's a visible police presence.

It's a sobering sight seen IRL, opposed to the media.

Some obs:

  • the smell is awful, more than just "post bonfire". It permeates the entire area around Lancaster West - up to Portobello Road market, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove. You're reminded by the smell that there are bodies in that tower

  • I get the sense that some of the wealthy occupants of the upmarket properties just a minute or two's walk away would complain about the smell (and the sight), but they'd probably get lynched

  • Lancaster West estate itself is actually quite pleasant. It's been portrayed in the media as a 70s concrete hell, a dumping ground for immigrants, asylum seekers, benefit claimants, council house occupants, etc. But in comparison to some of the grim council estates in northern British cities, it's an oasis. It's leafy and quiet and surrounded by streets with lovely little terrace houses and a church (St Clement's). There's a new community centre and leisure centre with landscaped and paved grounds a minute's walk of the estate, bright and airy with a pleasant cafe with a direct view of the tower remains

  • several of the lower-level properties in the three "arms" that radiate out from Grenfell Tower have balconies which are piled high with rubbish. It's a wonder there aren't more fires. Coupled with reports of communal escape areas at Grenfell being obstructed by dumped furniture, etc. I'd go as far as to say the residents aren't helping themselves and the TMO should be more proactive in not allowing this to happen

  • one can see how easy it would have been for a single vehicle to block Grenfell Road and cause difficulties in access for the emergency services
Reply to
Mike Tomlinson
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Very sobering - thanks for that.

Reply to
Tim Watts

+1
Reply to
newshound

newshound wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk:

Perhaps we need to mark and enforce "Fire Lanes" at some important routes and locations - as in the USA.

Reply to
DerbyBorn

The meja love to portray any council estate as a dumping ground for inadequates where the main occupation is drug dealing. And I'm sure there are some like that. But plenty are pretty nice places to live - often more interesting than cheap estates built for sale, where every square foot of land has to earn a profit.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

There are certainly plenty of good people living in council estates, but around here, the majority are defeated by the minority of scumbags, leaving the estates as places that no-one would choose to live if they had more options.

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

well you need something to get you off the jake .....

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

I would hazard a guess that the same would apply to almost all council estates in big cities.

Reply to
JoeJoe

Yes unfortunately, non inspected non working fire doors, fly tipping and rubbish are a national issue and have been for years There simply is nobody going around and doing proper checks and removing fixing stuff any more. People used to rely on this of course. This is one big lesson that should be noted by councils everywhere as access and safety seemed to have been forgotten in the cost cutting outsourcing new brave world. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

social housing was a big mistake .......

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

It is the price you pay for decreasing bureaucracy......every body wants not to pay more .....

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

You reckon the 1950s slums were better? Neither is satisfactory really. But why are local councils incapable of taking the bset from both? In reality they could not care less.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

the more you give people the more they want and abuse it ....nothing worse than a tenant who has bought their house and still thinks they should get everything for nothing ....I remember an owner saying to me when something became dangerous "you sold me the house in a bad state so you (the council) can just repair it for me"

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

Absolutely. Have a minimum wage big enough so everyone can buy their own house in London. You just know it makes sense. Of course this would mean a vast rise in taxation to pay for essential services like the police and army. Both much needed to control the riots caused by the increased taxation.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Then your mum should have brought you up better.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

We've all met those. And many aren't that way.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

But in many ways we seem to be paying more and more, and actually getting less and less.

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

indeed ......all those HR, social workers and IT people parasites they are ...

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

london should be abandoned to the foreigners ..... see how they like it then ....

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

what did you do to the last hire car you had ....?

Reply to
Jim GM4DHJ ...

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