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Drop-ins with Site Team and Principal Contractor Deconstructing the Tower

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Drop-ins with Site Team and Principal Contractor Deconstructing the Tower

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In-home Air Quality Monitors for all RBKC residents

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In-home Air Quality Monitors for all RBKC residents

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The Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team is offering free indoor air quality monitors for all RBKC residents to borrow for a 1-month period. A small plug-in device, the AWAIR monitor measures PM2.5, TVOCs, CO2, temperature and humidity, and your air quality data can be viewed through the AWAIR app.  This can help you understand the different pollutants within your home, increase awareness of behaviours that increase and decrease these pollutants and make changes to improve this. We also provide guidance on how to read the data and improve your air quality.

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On average we spend 90% of our time indoors either at home, school/college or in the workplace. It is therefore very important that the air we are breathing does not have a negative impact on our health.

As air makes its way into our homes and workplaces it can bring pollutants indoors with it. Indoor environments also contain sources of air pollution such as cooking and heating appliances, cleaning and household products and biological contaminants like mould and dust mites. When buildings have poor ventilation or low air exchange rates, indoor air pollutants from these sources can accumulate to high levels and could potentially pose a risk to our health.

The following pages provide information on:

Indoor air pollutants and health effects [PDF] (file size 63Kb)

The Council has also produced a leaflet which highlights some of the factors that can lead to poor air quality in the home, as well as advice on ways to improve it. If you would like to printed copy, please email [email protected] .

Indoor Air Quality leaflet [PDF file] (file size 818Kb)

Monitoring pollution levels in your home

The Council has previously focussed on monitoring air quality outside. Monitoring indoor air quality is a relatively new area. The Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team is offering free indoor air quality monitors for all RBKC residents to borrow for a 1-month period. A small plug-in device, the AWAIR monitor measures PM2.5, TVOCs, CO2, temperature and humidity, and your air quality data can be viewed through the AWAIR app. This can help you understand the different pollutants within your home, increase awareness of behaviours that increase and decrease these pollutants and make changes to improve this. We also provide guidance on how to read the data and improve your air quality.
Sign up to borrow an air quality monitor
If you are concerned about carbon monoxide from your boiler, then you are advised to purchase a carbon monoxide (CO) monitor from most home stores in the UK. This is used to test the level of CO in the home if you are concerned that your boiler may not be working properly and is giving off fumes (which are likely to be odourless). CO is not just produced by malfunctioning or poorly flued gas appliances but by the incomplete combustion of any carbon-containing fuels: gas (domestic or bottled), coal, coke, oil, biofuel and wood. Stoves, fires and boilers, water heaters, paraffin heaters and room heaters are all potential sources. Further information about carbon monoxide is available at Carbon monoxide | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (rbkc.gov.uk)

Air quality in the workplace

Air quality in places of work as well as schools and prisons is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive. Employers have a duty under The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2007 to do all they can to provide a safe system of work and a safe working environment.

Many new or refurbished buildings such as offices are virtually airtight; windows cannot be opened and the supply of fresh air is typically controlled by air conditioning and heating systems. Many workers in such buildings experience a variety of symptoms which have been collectively named "sick building syndrome" or SBS. Symptoms include lethargy, stuffy or runny nose, dry throat, headache, eye irritation, chest tightness and dry skin, and hypersensitivity to odours.

If you think you are experiencing SBS at your work place you should speak with your manager and contact the Trade Union for your organisation. The Royal Borough Heath and Safety team can provide information and advice. Telephone the Environmental Health Line on 020 7361 3002.

Open fires and indoor air quality

If you have just moved into a house with an open fireplace which you want to use, or are thinking of opening up an old hearth, it's important to have the flue checked to make sure it's free from obstructions and does not allow fumes to leak out, or escape into other rooms, before leaving the top of the chimney. The chimney must be swept regularly to avoid the risk of chimney fires or blockages. This is equally important for enclosed appliances.

Open fires are also a source of dust and grime in the home which can reduce the quality of indoor air. It is important to have your chimney swept regularly and to store the fuel correctly, and in dry conditions. It is also important to ensure that the ventilation to rooms with open fires is adequate.Burning wood, coal and other solid fuels at home emits dangerous pollution known as fine particulate matter (often referred to as PM 2.5).

For advice on how to minimise harmful emissions from using solid fuel is provided in the Environmental Protection UK's Using Wood and Coal for Home Heating leaflet.

Using Wood and Coal for Home Heating leaflet [PDF] (file size 290Kb).

If you live in the Royal Borough of Kensington Chelsea, please note, the whole borough is a Smoke Control Area. It was designated in 2004 under Section 18 of the Clean Air Act 1993, which has since been amended by the Environment Act 2021.

This means that people and businesses must not:

release smoke from a chimney

buy or sell unauthorised fuel for use unless it is to be used within an exempt appliance, approved for use in a Smoke Control Area.

In a Smoke Control Area, you can only burn the following authorised smokeless fuels (unless you are using an exempt appliance)

Gas

Anthracite and semi-anthracite

Low volatile steam coal.

Wood, wood chips and pellets are non-authorised and can only be burned on exempted appliances. Even then, the wood must be dry and ready to burn.

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Information about indoor air pollutants and how to monitor pollution levels in your home and workplace.

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Information on Air Quality and health monitoring in North Ken

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Information on Air Quality and health monitoring in North Ken

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Monitoring Health and Wellbeing in North Kensington :: NHS North Kensington Recovery

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Following the Grenfell tragedy, the Council and the NHS remain committed to monitoring the health and wellbeing of the local community, they work closely with partners to track various aspects of environmental and public health to ensure ongoing support and recovery.

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Environmental monitoring following the Grenfell Tower fire

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Air quality reports for the survivors and residents of the area surrounding Grenfell Tower.

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Information on Public Health Response to Grenfell

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Information on Public Health Response to Grenfell

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Public health | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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The Council’s Public Health team is working closely with NHS colleagues to ensure the protection of health for all of those affected by the tragedy.||Read about how we are working with the residents and local organisations to deliver a community-led recovery.

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Update on Approach to deconstructing the Tower 

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Update on Approach to deconstructing the Tower 

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Advice and Reports that informed the decision to take the Tower down

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Advice and Reports that informed the decision to take the Tower down

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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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The future of Grenfell Tower: advice that will inform a decision

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Independent, expert advice that will inform a decision on Grenfell Tower, including from structural engineers, about mental and physical health, and on justice.

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Official Announcement of Tower Deconstruction- Feb 2025

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Official Announcement of Tower Deconstruction- Feb 2025

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Access free and confidential mental health support, resources and advice specifically for NHS staff. Includes self-help guides, support lines, and wellbeing tips.

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The Deputy Prime Minister has met bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and written to both them and residents in the immediate community, to share her decision that Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down to the ground.

This is a deeply personal matter for the people affected and the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this process. She recognises how difficult it is for them and her priority has been to let them know her decision first.

Listening to the community

The Deputy Prime Minister has prioritised engagement with the community since her appointment in July and has met bereaved families, survivors and residents in the immediate community.

In November last year, the Deputy Prime Minister explained to families that she would listen to their views and consider expert information before making a decision on the future of the Tower in February. From November she offered bereaved and survivors the opportunity to meet in-person in North Kensington and Whitehall, or online, at different times and individually when families felt more comfortable with this. She has also spent time with representative groups, residents' associations, schools and faith leaders. She is grateful to everyone who shared their view - whether directly with her, with the Minister or officials - and especially to the bereaved and survivors.

The Tower was the home of the 72 innocent people who lost their lives, and of survivors whose lives were forever changed. It is clear from conversations it remains a sacred site. It is also clear that there is not a consensus about what should happen to it.

For some, Grenfell Tower is a symbol of all that they lost. The presence of the Tower helps to ensure the tragedy is never forgotten and can act as a reminder of the need for justice and accountability. Being able to see the Tower every day helps some people continue to feel close to those they lost. For others it is a painful reminder of what happened and is having a daily impact on some members of the community. Some have suggested that some floors of the Tower should be retained for the memorial, others have said that this would be too painful.

Expert advice

The Deputy Prime Minister has considered independent expert advice. Engineering advice says that the Tower is significantly damaged. It remains stable because of the measures put in place to protect it but even with installation of additional props, the condition of the building will continue to worsen over time. Engineers also advise it is not practicable to retain many of the floors of the building in place as part of a memorial that must last in perpetuity.

Taking the engineering advice into account the Deputy Prime Minister concluded that it would not be fair to keep some floors of the building that are significant to some families, whilst not being able to do so for others and knowing that, for some, this would be deeply upsetting.

How the Tower will be taken down

The government is committed to taking the next steps respectfully and carefully. There will be continued support for, and engagement with, the community throughout the process. There will be no changes to the Tower before the eighth anniversary.

In the coming months, the government will confirm the specialist contractor that will develop a detailed plan for taking the Tower down. The work will be led by technical experts with specific health and safety responsibilities and will include a methodology that includes environmental, health and safety measures and a detailed programme of work. It will likely take around two years to sensitively take down the Tower through a process of careful and sensitive progressive deconstruction that happens behind the wrapping.

We continue to support the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission as the community choose a design team to work with them on designing a memorial. The Deputy Prime Minister will ensure that materials from the site, communal areas of the Tower, or parts of the Tower can be carefully removed and returned for inclusion as part of the memorial, if the community wishes.

Continued commitment for the community

The department has regularly consulted the Metropolitan Police, HM Coroner and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to ensure decisions about the site do not interfere with their important work in pursuit of justice and accountability. The Police and HM Coroner have again recently confirmed they have everything they need.

The Deputy Prime Minister's commitment to the community continues. She will ensure bereaved families, survivors and residents continue to have opportunities to speak with her and the Building Safety Minister on issues that matter to them most.

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The Deputy Prime Minister has met bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and written to both them and residents in the immediate community, to share her decision that Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down to the ground.

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Latest Grenfell Community Support Newsletter

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Latest Grenfell Community Support Newsletter

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Grenfell Community Support Fourth Newsletter

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Support for bereaved and survivors | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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|| New programme of support for the next four years.

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Support for residents living within 500m of the Tower 

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Support for residents living within 500m of the Tower 

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£350 Wellbeing Grant

Gym Memberships

Wellbeing Advocacy

Housing Advocacy

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Enhanced Health Checks for people who live or work in North Ken

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Enhanced Health Checks for people who live or work in North Ken

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Grenfell Enhanced Health Checks :: NHS North Kensington Recovery

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If you live or work in the North Kensington area and are affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, then you are eligible for a free Enhanced Health Check.

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Home :: Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service

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We all deal with things in different ways.

But if you are battling #stress, #depression or #anxiety and need more support, please know you are not alone.

You can refer yourself to Community Living Well for free. Find out how we can help: https://bit.ly/2FyYyTM

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Community Living Well | Working Together For Your Mental Health

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We all deal with things in different ways. But if you are battling #stress, #depression or #anxiety and need more support, please know you are not alone. You can refer yourself to Community Living Well for free. Find out how we can help: https://bit.ly/2FyYyTM

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Health & services :: NHS North Kensington Recovery

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Find out how the fire may affect your physical health now and in the future.

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Dedicated Service for bereaved and survivors

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Dedicated Service for bereaved and survivors

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At Hestia, we are dedicated to providing a wide range of services to support and enrich the lives of our service users in Kensington & Chelsea.