The Future of Grenfell (1)

For years after the fire, Grenfell Tower remained standing, wrapped in a protective covering to preserve forensic evidence, while its future was debated. On 5 February 2025, then Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced the government’s decision to carefully demolish the tower. This followed independent engineering advice confirming that the structure was significantly damaged and would continue to deteriorate despite the 6,000 metal props supporting it.

The decision was emotionally charged for the community. For some, the tower is a physical connection to loved ones lost; for others, it is a painful daily reminder of the tragedy. The Grenfell Next of Kin group acknowledged the government’s reasoning, while Grenfell United expressed frustration that families had not been fully consulted.

In April 2025, the demolition contract was awarded to Deconstruct UK, the company already maintaining the site. Demolition formally began in September 2025 and is expected to take approximately two years, with each of the 24 floors requiring roughly one month of careful deconstruction. The Deputy Prime Minister committed to ensuring that materials and elements from the tower could be preserved for inclusion in the future memorial, if the community wished.

Community-Led Vision

The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission was established in 2018 to ensure that bereaved families, survivors, and North Kensington residents lead the decision-making on the long-term future of the site. After years of community consultation, the Commission published its second report in November 2023, titled Remembering Grenfell: Recommendations and Next Steps to a Memorial.

Design Competition

In July 2024, a design competition was launched. By January 2025, five teams were shortlisted: Curl La Tourelle + Head; Freehaus; George King Architects x Grow to Know; New South; and Office Sian. The London-based studio Freehaus, known for its community-led projects, was ultimately selected to develop the memorial design in close collaboration with the Grenfell community. The design is expected to be sufficiently developed for a planning application around 2027, with construction potentially beginning thereafter.

Criminal Investigation

Perhaps the most painful aspect of the Grenfell aftermath is the protracted wait for criminal accountability. The Metropolitan Police opened a criminal investigation shortly after the fire in June 2017 and has been considering a range of potential offences including manslaughter, corporate manslaughter, misconduct in public office, and fire safety violations. However, the investigation has been enormously complex, involving more than 460 companies, over 31 million documents, and thousands of witness statements.

The police committed to completing their investigation by the end of 2025, passing files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide on charges. Criminal trials are not expected to begin until at least mid-2027, meaning families may wait a full decade from the fire for courtroom proceedings.

Additionally, in February 2025, seven organisations were flagged for investigation under the Procurement Act 2023. However, by July 2025, debarment investigations into Grenfell-linked suppliers were paused at the request of the CPS and Metropolitan Police, to avoid prejudicing the criminal proceedings. This further frustrated campaigners who have long demanded that companies found culpable be excluded from public contracts.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 2 final report was published on 4 September 2024. It attributed the disaster to decades of government failure, construction industry incompetence, and the deliberate marketing of unsafe cladding products by companies including Arconic, Celotex, and Kingspan. The inquiry formally closed on 10 February 2025, and the government published its official response on 26 February 2025, accepting the findings and committing to act on all 58 recommendations.

Key Reform Commitments