Safety first to prevent another Grenfell

Grenfell Tower after blaze (Image: BBC)

For those reading from abroad and unfamiliar with the UK's housing policy, the country is enduring a 'crisis'. To be honest, this has been branded about by media commentators, politicians and property experts for decades. Those living abroad may have been oblivious to this in the past, they were surely given a taster to the problem UK's housing industry is facing after the events surrounding Grenfell Tower.

On Wednesday 14th June, Grenfell Tower, located in north Kensington, west London became the central focus in the global news agenda after the block of apartments was set ablaze. It happened very early in the day - shortly before 1am, when many of the residents were asleep. But the time between the fires starting on the fourth floor to its spread to the top of the building was too quick for people to react and escape. This tragedy, as I write this, hasn't a final death toll but regardless of its number, it's been really difficult not to pretend to be affected by this fire.

For those unaware of the tower's surroundings, it is located around an affluent part of London - near multi-million pound properties in Notting Hill. The 24-storey tower is just a short walking distance to Westfield, one of the UK's busiest shopping centres. It is also a tube station away from Portobello Road Market, where millions descend to every year. The area is very multicultural too. I've been around the location 3-4 times over the past year or so, and every time I go, you can tell the sense of warmth and friendliness among their residents. Economically however, it's a different story.

Protest after Grenfell Tower fire (Image: The Sun)

Personally, I knew none of the victims in order to mourn an individual with their relatives, or to realise the true sorrow the survivors are feeling. I choose not to be angry with authority figures who could have avoided this tragedy from happening. Instead I believe it's important to react with a level head. I have sympathy for those affected, absolutely. And I understand the anger people feel about this incident. But I'm beyond the point of showcasing frustration towards the council responsible for representing those residents, or towards the construction company who did a cowboy job of renovating Grenfell Tower not so long ago.

It is true to suggest this tragedy could have been avoided. Residents had protested in the past, warning their local authority that the Tower was a fire hazard - a disaster waiting to happen. It was then agreed that £10 million would be spent to improve its conditions. The job was complete, but alarmingly, without the instillation of sprinklers, which could have saved lives once triggered in an event of a fire or smoke being detected. Effectively, the money spent was on a vanity project - a plan to make the building look more attractive from the outside.

The situation regarding Grenfell Tower isn't isolated. Reports now suggest that many residential tower blocks, built around the same period, up-and-down the country, pose similar safety threats. I've always said this to people, but the 1970s was a dark age for British architecture. It was during the 20+ years' post-war baby boom which inspired governments to build these type of properties at any cost. This has backfired completely and tragically, today, it seems as if politicians haven't learnt from their predecessors' mistakes.

Theresa May enters Grenfell Tower scene (Image: Buzzfeed)

In this general election, every main political party promised to build, build and build. The Conservatives pledged a million homes to be built by 2020, and a further 500,000 by 2022. Labour wanted a million built over five years, Liberal Democrats proposed 300,000 per year until 2022 while the Green Party vowed to build 100,000 social rented homes each year by 2022. Was there any mention of taking over 200,000 isolated homes, and safely maintaining and renovating them, in their manifestos?

There are so many properties in Britain either boarded up, or bought and left unoccupied. You do wonder where these parties feel they can build their million homes - the only way is to build high. You can see already that unaffordable skyscraper properties are erecting everywhere, but is there a guarantee they'll be safe 40 years from now? If I was Housing Minister, I'd address safety and renovating empty homes before laying another brick at a brownfield site.

I completely get why politicians want so many buildings built and looking pretty. They want the UK to be seen as a buzzing, attractive nation with bountiful promise. It's a clichéd way to attract lucrative imports and international business. They're keener to do this today because of the current economic uncertainty triggered by UK's EU exit. But, they've been blind to the tragic consequence of what this could lead for those voters they rely on.

As horrible as this sounds, but the disaster at Grenfell Tower was exactly what authority figures needed - a massive wake up call. I only hope they use this opportunity to relook at their basic housing policies and prevent further atrocities from happening. They can start by actually listening to the residents, followed by prioritising on where their money goes, rather than assuming residents want pretty houses to live in. The last thing they want is another Grenfell Tower farce. The last thing anyone wants is another Grenfell Tower farce.