EXCLUSIVE: ‘We Are the Forgotten People of London’ – Rainham Residents Demand a Public Inquiry into the Launders Lane Crisis

29th July 202629th July 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Clean Air, Fires, Health and Wellbeing, Launders Lane, LFB min read

For years, families living near Launders Lane have endured summer after summer of smoke, fumes, ash and repeated fires. They say they cannot simply throw open their windows on a hot day like the rest of Havering. Instead, many wake in the early hours coughing, smelling burning, finding smoke inside their homes and wondering whether the air outside is safe to breathe. Now, residents say enough is enough. Backed by campaigners and the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham, they are calling for a full Public Inquiry into what they describe as one of London’s longest-running environmental crises.

Residents say the situation has gone on for far too long.

They describe waking to choking smoke, rooms filled with the smell of burning despite windows being shut, ash settling on cars, windows and gardens, and a haze hanging over parts of Rainham during periods of warm weather.

Parents say they no longer feel comfortable taking their children to nearby parks when smoke drifts across the area. Others say they drive out of Rainham simply so their children and grandchildren can play outside without breathing in the fumes.

Many residents say they have spent years feeling ignored.

They believe they have repeatedly raised concerns about the impact on their health, their homes and their quality of life, yet still find themselves living through the same ordeal every summer.

Speaking on behalf of the Launders Lane Steering Group, Catherine said residents now believe only a full independent Public Inquiry can establish what has happened over the past two decades.

The group says it wants an inquiry to examine:

• The actions taken by Havering Council following the Stop and Enforcement Notices issued in 2004.

• What action followed the 2012 Jacobs Report.

• The role of the Environment Agency, including questions surrounding a 2012 soil investigation report.

• Historic water testing and why residents say results have not always been made available to them.

• Further analysis of the Jacobs Report.

• The long-running bi-monthly meetings relating to Launders Lane, which residents say they have repeatedly asked to attend or obtain minutes from but have been unable to do so.

The group also wants consideration given to whether Human Rights issues arise from the prolonged impact on residents and has called for further independent analysis into respiratory illness, cancers and whether any links can be established between local health outcomes, smoke from the fires and PM2.5 pollution.

Climate campaigner Ruth Kettle Frisby, from Clean Air for Havering, also supports calls for urgent action.

She told the Havering Daily:

“Climate breakdown is happening before our very eyes in Rainham in the form of wildfires, and it’s exacerbating the Launders Lane crisis. My heart goes out to Rainham children.

“Our High Court Judicial Review against Havering Council during the previous administration led to the Council designating what is being dubbed as the ‘Rainham Volcano’ on Arnold’s Field as contaminated land.

“For the sake of public health, Havering Council must urgently observe its duties and use its powers to ensure that the landowner takes responsibility because, first and foremost, the fires must be stopped. Rainham residents have endured summers upon summers of hell and London Fire Brigade crews continue risking their lives responding to these repeated fires.”

One resident, who lives close to Launders Lane, described what life has become.

“The smell here is horrendous. It repeatedly wakes people up during the night. Our rooms smell of smoke and burning even with the windows closed.

“There is a new pile now that is smouldering. I can’t believe we are living like this. I have a granddaughter and if I want to take her to the park, I drive out of Rainham.

“Residents feel like they are suffocating. We are tired of waking up with rooms smelling of smoke, with runny noses and eyes that sting. We feel completely let down. The irony is we have a ULEZ camera right near Launders lane as the smoke keeps burning.

“How many people have turned a blind eye to this? There needs to be a Public Inquiry. People need to be held accountable. We were completely failed by the last administration and now are demanding a public inquiry.“

Residents say they have become the forgotten people of London.

While others enjoy the summer sunshine with windows open, barbecues in their gardens and children playing outside, many Rainham families say they first have to check whether smoke is drifting across their homes.

They say the smell invades bedrooms, smoke enters homes even when windows are closed and families live with the constant anxiety of wondering when the next fire will start.

Some describe children playing sport while smoke hangs across pitches. Others speak of ash settling on washing, cars and windowsills. Many say they no longer take simple things, such as opening a bedroom window, for granted.

The emotional toll, residents say, has become just as significant as the physical impact.

Many have lost faith that their concerns are being heard.

The Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham, who has been working closely alongside affected residents, fully supports the community’s campaign and is backing calls for a Public Inquiry.

Margaret told the Havering Daily: “The scandal of fires across Arnolds Field Launders Lane has gone on for too long. I am supporting a public inquiry into this and the damage to health and wellbeing from this illegal former landfill site. I have already put the wheels in motion to getting a public health emergency instigated.

“I have also written this week to the new Secretary of State, Angela Eagle MP, to bring this situation to her attention and calling for concerted action to tackle this issue. I am pressing for the report I commissioned from the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology into the pollution impacts from historic landfills be considered by Parliament’s Environment Select Committee.
Getting a solution to stopping the fires at Launders Lane will always be a priority for me.”

For residents, this is no longer simply about smoke or repeated fires.

It is about accountability.

It is about years of unanswered questions.

It is about children growing up believing this is normal.

It is about elderly residents and those with existing respiratory conditions who dread warm weather because they fear another night of smoke entering their homes.

Above all, residents say it is about the right to breathe clean air in their own homes.

After years of living with conditions they say no community should have to endure, they believe the time for meetings has passed.

Now, they say, the time has come for a full Public Inquiry.

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