Some people say it should stay there to recall the tragedy and all the careless mistakes that led to the inferno. Others say it should be demolished as it's an unwanted reminder of a dreadful disaster, forever traumatising those who want to put it behind them and have some kind of closure.
My opinion is neither here nor there as the tragedy never affected me personally, but for what it's worth I'm in favour of demolition.
Surely keeping the tower there acts as a disturbing trigger for any sensitive person who walks past it or sees it from their window, and would rather not have the awful reality of that day constantly thrust at them.
Those who want to preserve the tower say its presence stops people from forgetting the disaster, but did New Yorkers forget about 9/11 after the remains of the twin towers were destroyed? Of course not.
Apart from anything else, the tower requires regular maintenance to ensure its structural safety. Can it withstand really strong winds like those of Storm Eowyn a couple of weeks back?
Those who favour demolition are planning a remembrance garden or a memorial to mark the tragedy. That seems more sensible than maintaining a burnt-out and rotting shell for years on end.
PS: The Ministry of Housing says engineering advice is that the tower is significantly damaged and will get worse with time.
Pic: Grenfell Tower
That makes sense. If the need is felt for a memorial, something can be built for that purpose, but it doesn't need to be so huge as the whole building -- which is probably dangerous to approach and will eventually collapse anyway.
ReplyDeleteInfidel: Indeed, there must be a colossal maintenance bill for keeping the tower in place.
DeleteNick, I remember this horrible fire and a lot of mistakes committed . A complete chaos. I would keep this burnt tower . We need from time to time strong symbols. A remembrance garden is not appropriate for the horror these persons have gone through. Those who wish the remembrance garden are probably those of the rich part of Kensington , social segregation , the poorer out of sight
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: What would be appropriate is removing inflammable cladding from all the other vulnerable buildings. There are still many buildings that haven't been touched.
DeleteNick, of ourse that's the most important thing to do but the investors are looking more for making money than security.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Oh absolutely. Other people's safety isn't as important as profit margins.
DeleteOf course
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading I thought about the safety issue. That alone says to me, demolish it and turn the area into a park in memory of the disaster.
ReplyDeleteSandra: Yes, a park can be actively enjoyed by people, but a burnt-out tower block is just a blot on the landscape.
DeleteIt looks way too dangerous. Why harm others?
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Agreed. How do we know it's structurally sound and not about to shed bits of concrete?
DeleteIt seems dangerous to keep it standing there. What if it starts to crumble and fall.
ReplyDeleteMary: Exactly. There would have to be constant and very thorough inspections to make sure the tower was safe.
DeleteThe best memorial would be to remove dangerous cladding from all buildings....but perish the thought that government would act to preserve the lives of ordinary people. Apart from that, demolish the thing.
ReplyDeleteFly: A lot of re-cladding is being held up by legal disputes and the various implicated parties trying to shift the blame to someone else. In the meantime yes, ordinary people in dangerous tower blocks are terrified they'll be caught in a fire.
DeleteI agree with you and others, Nick, that this tower should definitely be demolished and some sort of other memorial installed in the space, like a garden. What puzzles me is why it has remained standing for so many years? It seems that the legal disputes over who's to blame are ridiculous due to the fact that if it did collapse, there could be further repercussions in the form of injury or death.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: So many public projects in the UK get bogged down in legal disputes, consultation exercises, politicians passing the buck etc that it takes years to get anything done. And as you say, in the meantime the tower is a dangerous structure and might even collapse.
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