There’s been much discussion of a memorial for the dead, the survivors and the collaterally damaged of Grenfell (Natasha Elcock: I escaped Grenfell – but now we face a new trauma, 28 December). Surely the best memorial, and the best indication that Kensington and Chelsea, the government, and previous politicians who presided over the removal of safety standards in the name of economic liberalism, were actually paying attention to events and acknowledging responsibility, would be a giant community land trust (CLT).
Social tenants would have secure social-rent homes for life – and the inheritance rights they would once have had; leaseholders would be given new homes on a like-for-like basis depending on what they had before the disaster (none of the rigged valuations and inflated replacement costs that happen in most “regeneration” schemes such as the Heygate/Elephant Park); and the whole community would get an improved, green, well-designed landscape with appropriate facilities. No further loss, only improvement. And because it would be a Community Land Trust, it would be run by the community. No more tiers of (ir)responsibility, no more buck-passing, no more profits before people.
As Natasha Elcock says, Grenfell was full of talented, capable people. If Kensington and Chelsea gave them the land, what a memorial could be achieved. And, as a handful of CLTs struggle to deal with unhelpful councils and greedy landowners, what an example for communities across the country.
Judith Martin
Winchester, Hampshire
• Brexit and the survival of the government aside, surely the most significant events of 2017 were the summer terror attacks, the Grenfell disaster and the heroic and inspiring response of so many ordinary people to them. It seems that not a single person among these has been deemed worthy of an honour in the New Year list.
In light of that, surely every decent person on the list must question why they were chosen. Unsung heroes, charity workers, artists and sportspeople have long been wheeled out to add a veneer of respectability to the gongs the establishment bestows on its own. Am I alone in thinking that this year their awards are badges of shame?
John Richardson
South Cave, East Yorkshire
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