“The Health and Wellbeing of the People of Rainham is Absolutely Paramount to Me”-Margaret Mullane, Launders Lane Update.

“I am also pursuing an urgent meeting with the Mayor of London to discuss Launders Lane.”

In September 2025 Margaret Mullane MP made a successful bid to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology to commission a study titled “Management of Legacy Landfill”. The idea behind the piece of work was to produce national level policy options which would help resolve the issues at Launders Lane in Rainham.

The report was published this month and can be found here: https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0759/

Margaret told the Havering Daily: “There is a lot of good work going on to solve the issues at Launders Lane, but there is more to be done. Thankfully we have a short-term project which should provide a few years respite for residents whilst I try to find a national level solution to our local problem. That’s why I commissioned this research, to get expert-led policy options which I can pursue in Parliament on behalf of the people of Rainham.”

Of the nine policy options outlined in the report Margaret has identified three main areas which would help at Launders Lane. One of the key suggestions is the need to publicly fund pilot projects on new approaches to remediation, developing scalable low-cost technologies which could be used on sites like the one in Rainham. 

Another suggestion was to establish a centralised legislative legacy landfill programme, creating a national policy framework for managing risk at legacy sites. Other options included better data mapping, more community involvement and transparency, and a US style superfund to help incentivise the remediation of low value sites for development purposes.

Margaret added: “Whilst I continue to meet with Havering Council, the Environment Agency, the GLA, Queen Mary University and residents, I am also pursuing an urgent meeting with the Mayor of London to discuss Launders Lane. 

“Now, considering this new research, I will be writing to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee in Parliament to get this report discussed in the wider context of remediating legacy landfill across the country.”

“The health and wellbeing of the people of Rainhamis absolutely paramount to me, and I will continue to do all in my power to end the blight of Launders Lane at a local, regional, and national level.”

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