Grenfell Survivor Explains How Inadequate Council’s Relocation Effort Is

5 July 2017, 12:19

Corinne told Nick Ferrari that the council’s response to the Grenfell fire has left her feeling like a second class citizen.

She says that communication has been inadequate and the accommodation she’s been offered is inappropriate.

“We were asked to fill in a form that asked us where we would like to live, whether we’d be happy in the borough or a different borough.”

Because Corinne works in the borough, and more importantly he children go to school there, she said she needed to stay in the borough.

“They offered us a flat in Pimlico,” which is in Westminster, she explained. “They said to me ‘an offer needs to be made.’ Even if it’s realistic or unrealistic an offer needs to be made, even though they knew I wouldn’t take that offer.

“When I spoke to the lady, she said to me ‘on our form it says you don’t mind being moved to the borough of Westminster.’

“I definitely didn’t say that. I filled in that form myself."

She explains that while technically she has been offered accommodation, it's effectively been useless: “I haven’t actually been made an offer in regard to the specifications I put down on that form.”

After the horror she and her family have been through, she says the response from those in power doesn't seem to have been designed to help the survivors.


“We were paying full rent, we weren’t on any kind of benefits. Our lives have been taken from us, we were lucky to get out of the fire.

“It’s not good enough for the council to say ‘an offer has to be made’ just so they can look good.”