Shropshire Star

Grenfell survivors’ support and housing sites in most deprived parts of England

The fire-hit tower is in an area ranked as being among the most deprived 10% in England.

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View of Grenfell Tower from Wood Lane station (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Some of the key locations that have played a role in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire, including a major site for the proposed rehousing of survivors, are in the most deprived areas of England.

A new map produced by the Press Association to mark one month since the disaster shows the enormous statistical difference between rich and poor neighbourhoods within the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Grenfell Tower is in an area ranked as being among the most deprived 10% in England.

(PA Graphics)
(PA Graphics)

St Clement Church and the Clement James Centre, which have become important locations for community support and public meetings, are both in a neighbourhood ranked among the 20% most deprived.

The Westway Sports Centre, which was the main refuge for survivors following the fire, is also among the 20% most deprived areas.

Some 68 flats have been secured for the permanent rehousing of survivors in a housing development called Kensington Row, just over a mile from the tower.

But even though the flats are all newly built, the area in which the housing development is based is among the 30% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.

The Westway Sports Centre, which was the main refuge for survivors, was visited by the Queen (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
The Westway Sports Centre, which was the main refuge for survivors, was visited by the Queen (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

A branch of Holiday Inn, in which around 30 families reportedly found temporary accommodation following the fire, bordered another area ranked among the 30%.

The borough of Kensington & Chelsea is divided into 103 local areas for statistical purposes. Some 11 of these are classed as being among the 10% most deprived in England, including the area that includes Grenfell Tower.

A total of 35 areas are ranked among the 30% most deprived.

The PA map shows these to be clustered mostly in the top third of the borough, together with a few areas along the western boundary and in the bottom south-west corner. A separate 35 neighbourhoods are considered between the 40% and 10% least deprived in England.

Protesters gathered outside Kensington town hall last month (Yui Mok/PA)
Protesters gathered outside Kensington town hall last month (Yui Mok/PA)

Kensington town hall, site of angry protests in the days following the Grenfell fire, sits in one of these areas, as does the popular tourist spot Kensington Palace.

The huge variation in living standards within Kensington & Chelsea is also reflected in levels of income.

The average salary in the borough is £123,000: the highest in the UK. But the median average – the midpoint of all salaries in the area – is £32,700.

No other local authority in the country has such a large gap between these two averages, pointing to a huge contrast between high and low earners.

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