‘As a community we need something done now-it is our health at risk’-Launders Lane Crisis meeting held as residents demand answers from the council.

Plans to remediate the land by the owner would cost £20 million and see 16,500 lorries for 10 years before the site is cleared.

“We are here to offer a solution, why is the council stopping us?” said Liam, the architect and representative for the owner of the site on Launders Lane. Liam attended the meeting held at Harris Academy last night, Thursday 18 May to make his side of this controversial issue heard and openly tell residents that the owner of the site had been engaging with the council and had plans to clear the site at no cost to the council or residents.

“We wrote to the council on the 7 March and gave them all the access they needed to the site. We asked to be part of the steering group and we were told no. We still have not received a response from the council to our letter.”.

Liam held the letter out for residents to clearly see that the owner had been actively working with the council and has clear plans set out to remediate the land at no cost to the council and work with community to see how they would like to see parts of the land developed.

Yesterday’s meeting was organised and hosted by Mark Wheatley part of the Launders Lane Crisis group that was set up a year ago. Many residents came to hear the latest developments last night being exposed by Mark and Liam.

“We can all benefit if we work together,” said Mark. “But the council will not work together with the land owner. This problem started in 2004 and has been getting worse ever since. It should have been tackled as a matter of priority by the new administration and it hasn’t been. Here we are in the middle of May and no response has yet to be given to the owner. We are all suffering here, our healths are suffering. I live the furthest away from the rest of the group and I am now on prescribed medication and daily throat lozenges. Many of you can’t open windows, struggle to breathe and yet the council have not once asked the land owner to sit round the table and join in discussions. We have heard how the land owner wants to be involved in discussions, how he wants to join with in the steering group and yet he has been told no at every step.

“Surely working with him as a community would be the best thing to do?” added Mark.

Liam showed plans of how the owner is looking to redevelop the land. Plans showed how the owner would use 25% of the land for his business and 75% of the land would be redeveloped for community use.

He also explained that the remediation of the land would take 16,500 lorries for ten years before the land was cleared at a cost £20 million.

“We are tired of hearing how it is the old administration’s fault. Can we hear what the new administration is doing instead?” added Mark.

Residents demanded answers from the council and South Hornchurch Councillor Graham Williamson did his best to respond. However, residents were openly fed up of hearing about the ongoing dispute and the council’s lack of quick response. They are demanding answers and work to be done straight away and not meeting after meeting that is clearly not resolving anything.

Ruth from Havering Climate Coalition and Havering Clean Air was present at this important meeting alongside Rosina from Havering Friends of The Earth. The fumes being released from the site are a serious concern for residents who are suffering with their health and the community as a whole.

One resident shouted, “Where is Sadiq Khan?” of which Mark Wheatley clearly informed the crowd that the London Mayor had been invited to this important meeting, but had not attended.

“He says clean air is important to him and that is why he is expanding ULEZ, so why is he not here tonight? This is a huge concern to us residents here and yet once again he chooses to ignore us. If he really is serious about tackling air pollution then he would have attended here tonight, but he isn’t,” added one angry resident.

“We need an urgent resolution to this now, not the planning of further meetings. Action must be done. The council must sit around the table with the land owner and start resolving this. We are fed up and demand action,” finished Mark.

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