Kensington & Chelsea

The scheme will create one of London’s largest hotels. It includes 62 affordable homes but residents in the nearby conservation area said the building would block their light and was overdevelopment.

Shah Aghlani’s mother Sakina Afrasehabi, and his aunt Fatemeh Afrasiab, 59, were trapped and died in the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. They were among 72 people killed in the tragedy.

A Grenfell project manager destroyed evidence about the tower after the tragic blaze which killed 72 people, the Inquiry into the fire in north Kensington has heard.

A charity has warned that London faces a homelessness “crisis” this winter, as social distancing requirements limit the number of people who can be helped off the streets.

A pioneering clinic which helps people overcome addiction to club drugs has not seen a dip in drug use whilst festivals are on hold and clubs closed due to the pandemic.

A woman who was kept prisoner by a man who tortured her and threatened to murder and rape her has spoken about how she managed to escape.

It was hoped putting cladding on Grenfell Tower “would prevent it looking like a poor cousin” to a new academy school and leisure centre built close by, the inquiry into the 2017 fire has heard.

Savvy residents are getting extra help to keep their broken possessions out of landfill in a week of free repairs and workshops. Last year residents in Kensington and Chelsea threw away more than 1,000 tonnes of clothes and textiles in their bins or as recycling. And they could be shelling out for new items when they could actually be repaired.

A homeless man has pleaded guilty to stabbing a prayer leader in the neck at one of the UK’s largest mosques.
Daniel Horton, 30, stabbed his 70-year-old victim during prayers at the London Central Mosque, Regent’s Park, on 20 February 2020.

Londoners are likely to be advised in the near future to only use public transport for essential journeys, according to the director of public health for Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea.

Claims that there was a “culture of bullying” at Kensington and Chelsea council’s building control department have been rejected by a council boss.

A council building inspector in charge of inspecting Grenfell Tower to check up on the work said he did not see any issues he needed to bring to the attention of bosses. John Hoban, who resigned from his job at Kensington and Chelsea council in March 2017, just months before the fatal fire, told the Grenfell Inquiry he was struggling with a huge workload.

A £1.5m package of renovation works will start to restore a grade-I listed mansion in a popular London park from a national list of buildings at risk. Kensington and Chelsea council will spend the money on the Jacobean Holland House in the centre of Holland Park.

Politicians are determined to make sure the world-class Royal Brompton Hospital stays in Chelsea. The hospital, which has a unique cardiac specialism, has played a leading role in the fight against coronavirus as medics use their skill to tackle the respiratory illness.

Noisy “super cars” and motorbikes which shatter the peace could be caught out by new acoustic cameras being pioneered in the streets of Kensington and Chelsea. The high tech cameras are activated by excess noise and motorists could end up with the court taking their Lamborghinis and Ferraris away.

Kensington and Chelsea council has confirmed it is in talks with Network Rail on producing a feasibility study that could lead to the “Kensal Portobello Station” being built. Also called the Elizabeth Line, the 73-mile underground route will link Shenfield in Essex to Reading in Berkshire, with branches to Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood in South-east London.

Emergency service call handlers must be clear that police helicopters are not able to rescue people, after residents trapped in Grenfell Tower thought they could. New recommendations call for clearer information after a man who lost family members in the tragedy complained that people thought six police helicopters which flew near the burning building had come to rescue them. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) looked into his concerns and warned call handlers to be clear after people thought the helicopter would be a lifeline out of the burning building in 2017.

By Rachael Burford, Local Democracy Reporter
London universities are rolling out a string of measures to keep students socially distanced during fresher’s week – including asking them to do online speed dating and beer tasting. Student unions and universities have been working with councils over the summer break to ensure campuses are “Covid secure” for the start of term, with students unable to meet up in groups of more than six.

By Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter The owner of a family restaurant which weathered recession is fearful for its future

By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter A segregated cycle lane spanning the length of Kensington High Street will be in