14 June 2025 marked eight years since the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people.
Firefighters took part in the annual silent walk alongside the bereaved, survivors and the community in memory of the people who lost their lives and to demand that the tragedy is never repeated.
After seven years of investigation, the public inquiry which concluded in 2024 found that the fire was made possible by an agenda of deregulation and decades of political failure.
Yet while the government has accepted the findings and set out a plan to act on the recommendations, developers are still getting away with cutting corners in building safety.
The Fire Brigades Union, Grenfell campaigners and building safety organisations have raised the alarm on a new high-rise building in Penge, London, that has been approved for development despite only having one staircase.
In light of new building safety regulations which state that tower blocks over 18m high must have two staircases, developers reduced the height of the planned tower block to just 30cm below the threshold.
Bromley Council has given the development the green light, despite the London Fire Brigade submitting a nine-point objection stating that the reduction in building height to avoid the need for a second staircase is ‘not ethically justified’.
Evacuation of the Grenfell Tower was found to have been hindered by the tower having only one narrow stairwell.
Justice for Grenfell, End Our Cladding Scandal, Tower Blocks UK, UK Cladding Action Group backed the letter coordinated by the FBU, which calls for London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Bromley Council leader Colin Smith to prevent the building from going ahead. Tenants’ unions ACORN and London Renters’ Union also backed the call for action.
Steve Wright, FBU general secretary, said: “As always, our thoughts are with the 72 people who lost their lives and the bereaved, survivors and community. It is a disgrace that they are still waiting for justice eight years on from the fire, with no one held responsible.
“The government promised that they would do everything in their power to prevent another Grenfell from happening again, yet lessons are not being learnt. Developers are still getting away with doing the bare minimum to make new homes safe.
“We will continue to hold politicians and developers to account on building safety and push back on any attempts to circumvent the safety improvements that were introduced in the light of Grenfell.”
