UK pledges to rehouse families displaced by fire disaster to newly built block in affluent area

Record ID: 896601

  • Title: UK pledges to rehouse families displaced by fire disaster to newly built block in affluent area
  • Date: 22nd June 2017
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 19, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS AND PEOPLE HOLDING MINUTE'S SILENCE FIREFIGHTER CRYING WOMAN WEARING SHIRT WITH PICTURES OF MISSING PERSON HUGGING FIREFIGHTER
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2017 16:08
  • Keywords: Grenfell Tower Fire Prime Minister Theresa May rehousing bereaved families
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA0056MD1G07
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Some of the families displaced by a catastrophic fire that destroyed a 24-storey social housing block in London last week will be rehoused in a brand new block that is nearing completion in an affluent area of Kensington, west London.
    The Grenfell Tower fire killed 79 people, including many children and in some cases entire families, and left others bereaved and homeless.
    Prime Minister Theresa May, who was criticised for her initial response to the tragedy after staying away from affected people during a first visit to the scene, made a statement to parliament on Thursday (June 22) about what authorities were doing to support people affected.
    She said that 68 properties in a newly constructed block in Kensington would go to evacuees from Grenfell Tower.
    The destroyed block stands in a pocket of social deprivation within one of Britain's richest areas, home to many millionaires. The disaster has highlighted extreme social inequalities in the area and in broader society, leading to much soul-searching about neglect of poorer communities.
    The new block where some of the displaced will move into was not originally aimed at under-privileged families but rather at affluent home-buyers in the private sector. However, the developer, Berkeley Homes, has agreed to sell it at cost price in order to accommodate the evacuees, May told parliament.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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