Britain’s government confirmed Friday that the tower block in London, where 72 people died, would be demolished, provoking a combination of anger and relief from survivors and bereaved families.
For nearly eight years, wrapped in white and crowned with green hearts, Grenfell Tower has stood as a tragic monument to the worst residential fire in the post-World War II history of Britain. On Friday, the government confirmed it would demolish the building, where 72 people died in a blaze that a public inquiry blamed on a lethal combination of negligence, cost-cutting and deregulation.
The decision, by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, divided families of the victims when she told them of it on Wednesday, in advance of the official announcement. Some condemned the plan to tear down the building before justice had been meted out to those responsible for the disaster; others conceded the tower could not stand in its present state indefinitely.
The anguished debate over Grenfell Tower echoes those over the sites of other tragedies, such as the 9/11 attacks in New York City and Washington or the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, where ruined structures become sacred ground, steeped in symbolism and memory.
Ms. Rayner said the demolition would be carried out methodically over two years behind the protective wrapping. Parts of the tower, and material from it, will be preserved so they can become part of a future memorial. The carefully worded statement, issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, tried to navigate the emotional crosscurrents of the debate.
“The tower was the home of the 72 innocent people who lost their lives, and of survivors whose lives were forever changed,” the statement said. “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.”