Grenfell Tower decision was taken 'properly,' says building safety minister

12 February 2025, 09:04

The building safety minister has said he believes "we did the process properly" when it comes to consultation and the decision to dismantle Grenfell Tower.

Alex Norris told LBC that he is "really gutted" that some people feel they have not been able to contribute to the process.

Asked whether he was confident that all relevant parties were spoken to and consulted before the decision last week, Mr Norris said: "I believe very strongly that everybody had that opportunity, because I was part of that process throughout."

He said that the Government engaged with group and individual meetings at a variety of times and on and offline "so from my perspective, I feel like we gave everybody an opportunity to contribute". However he said that people who are bereaved "have told me (...) that I am wrong, and of course I'm not going to challenge that".

"I am really gutted that they said that," Mr Norris added. "I've been able to assure them that (...) the view that they've expressed was strongly heard in that consultation.

"The reality is, there was no consensus. We know that the engineering report says that at least down to floor 10, there really weren't many good options that we could do other than (...) taking the tower down. So that's the decision that we took based on all those conversations that we had. So yeah, I believe we did the process properly."

The Deputy Prime Minister said it is "not a possibility" for Grenfell Tower to remain in its current state.

The tower will be brought down to ground level, with some parts returned where possible to be included in a memorial "if the community wishes".

The Government officially announced the west London block's future, having been met with criticism from some bereaved and survivors of the 2017 fire following a private meeting earlier this week.

What is left of the tower has stood in place in the years since the fire, with a covering on the building featuring a large green heart accompanied by the words "forever in our hearts".

The June 2017 disaster claimed the lives of 72 people.

The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting on plans for a permanent memorial in the area of the tower, with recommendations including a "sacred space", designed to be a "peaceful place for remembering and reflecting".

It is expected a planning application for a memorial could be submitted in late 2026.