Grenfell Tower to be lit up each night as ‘visible reminder’

Grenfell Tower is to be lit up at night while it is dismantled as a “visible reminder” of the tragedy.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said beams of light would be projected upwards from the tower’s corners, with 72 green lights also being used on anniversaries of the fire.

The lighting is set to be tested on Saturday and fully switched on from Sunday.

One group representing those who died in the disaster criticised the plans as being a “PR stunt”, but another told the BBC it was important to do “everything possible” to ensure Grenfell does not “disappear from hearts and minds before the criminal process progresses”.

Seventy-two people died in the tragedy at the west London tower on 14 June 2017.

The government said the lights would be switched on no earlier than 17:00 and turned off by 23:00 each day.

On Sunday and 14 June next year, 72 beams of green light will mark these significant dates in the year.

In its most recent update to the community, MHCLG said: “We have heard it is important that there is a visible reminder of the tower’s presence while it is being carefully taken down.”

Responding to the plans, Grenfell Next of Kin, which advocates for the immediate families of the deceased, said: “Eight-and-a-half years on, the MHCLG Grenfell team and Memorial Commission hide behind Instagram virtue-signalling, empty gestures, and PR stunts, while ignoring our voices, demands, and agency.

“We live every day with the manslaughter of our parents, partners, children, and siblings – our kin. We don’t need a light show or performative gestures funded through the public purse and dished out to crony contracts.”

It added: “The department makes decisions in secret and wastes public money. It’s all ‘bread and circuses’ while our needs and voices are systemically ignored.”

Nevertheless, a spokesperson for Grenfell United, which represents survivors and bereaved families, said: “With those responsible keen for Grenfell to disappear from hearts and minds before the criminal process progresses, we need to do everything possible to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

A residents’ association on the Grenfell estate has claimed local residents were not consulted about the installation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A MHCLG spokesperson said: “We understand how important it is that those who tragically lost their lives are remembered with a fitting memorial and how deeply personal this is to those affected.

“Many bereaved families and survivors have told us it is important that there is a visible reminder of the tower’s presence on the skyline and to help with this, we have installed lighting that will shine upwards at each corner of the tower.”

The department said it had engaged with residents, including by sending letters to homes neighbouring the tower and a leafleting and poster campaign.

Kensington and Chelsea Council said it had no involvement in managing the building.

The government announced earlier this year that the remains of Grenfell Tower would be brought down in a process expected to take about two years.

The government has said the work would be carried out “with great care and sensitivity” and was designed to minimise disruption.

The tower has remained standing for more than eight years, covered by a banner featuring a green heart and the words “forever in our hearts”.

The banner is set to be moved down as work progresses, with new ones added lower down the tower before the higher one is removed, the government has said.

Plans are also under way for a permanent memorial.