The Grenfell Tower ruins will remain standing for "years" until all legal issues have been dealt with, survivors of the fire have been told.
Even after all legal processes are complete, it will take another two years to demolish the remains of the building.
The North Kensington community surrounding the tower could also get answers to fears from neighbours the soil around the area could have been contaminated by debris from the tower's burnt cladding.
The council's Grenfell issues lead, Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith told the Grenfell Scrutiny Committee, and dozens of residents who packed out the meeting on Tuesday, that the latest advice to the council was that the tower would remain standing for "some years" while the legal processes were worked through.
The demolition was estimated to take another two years, he added.
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The tower's remains were finally fully wrapped in June ahead of the first anniversary of the tragedy, following medical experts' advice that the sight of the wreck was worsening trauma.
Speaking about the issue of when residents would be asked to move back into accommodation they fled surrounding the tower, Cllr Taylor-Smith acknowledged the council needed to rebuild trust in the community.
"This issue with the tower is going to be years. It's going to be years. We’ve got to start building that back as a community. And that is what this is all about.”
Justice4Grenfell campaigner Moyra Samuels told the Grenfell Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday evening that all her neighbours' fish had died in the days following the fire.
She told the committee households living close to Grenfell, which had been showered in ash and debris during the fire, were concerned about the long-term effects of the material, including on their gardens.
“We all grow stuff. These are very real concerns that we have.”
Committee Chair Cllr Robert Thomson said the committee was eager to follow up on that suggestion, and they agreed to add investigation of the soil to their programme of work.
They also planned to place an added focus on the community's mental health to their work ahead of the next meeting of the committee in September.
Moyra Samuels, who is a teacher, said there was talk in the community that the support offered to young people following the tragedy was too fragmented.
“This is a ticking time bomb. If children do not receive the help and support now, we are going to inherit mental health problems as they become adolescents.”
The committee's papers show the council's leadership team was being asked on Wednesday, July 25, to approve the award of a contract for health and safety advice about the Grenfell tower site.
The site is currently under the control of the Metropolitan Police for forensic investigations. Its day-to-day management overseen by an independent group from the London Borough of Bromley.
The paper asks that the status quo remain, but the council award a contract worth up to £160,000 over two years to add health and safety advice and support services to the site's management.
