News for the community, by the community.
There was a time when the very mention of touching Green Belt land would send shockwaves through any local authority. Green Belt wasn’t just protected, it was revered. It was our buffer against relentless development, our breathing space, and a sanctuary for wildlife. Yet today, it appears to stand defenceless, stripped of the respect and protection it once commanded.
Residents living in Noak Hill have reached out to The Havering Daily after reporting large lorries blocking local roads on Sunday morning, carrying loads of hardcore into a field on Green Belt land. The site, near Paternoster Road and Church Road, has become the focus of serious concern as residents believe an illegal encampment is being rapidly constructed.
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Havering’s green belt is facing an unprecedented wave of pressure, not just in one corner of the borough but across sites stretching from Noak Hill to Rainham and North Ockendon. Land once considered sacrosanct has found itself vulnerable, with long-held protections weakened and development interest escalating rapidly. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than along Fenn Lane, where a major data centre has been proposed on farmland.
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Councillor Pat Brown presented a petition signed by hundreds of local residents opposing the proposed MOTO motorway service area at the last full Council meeting on Wednesday 19 November 2025. The development, which would build extensive new services on both sides of the M25 in Brentwood and Havering, comes on top of the disruption and environmental pressures expected from the Lower Thames Crossing.
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As environmental campaigners met to discuss the potential harms and inappropriate development faced by Havering, Green Party campaigner Mark Whiley calls on councillors to not rush timelines or consultations ahead of next year’s elections.
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An overwhelming majority of Havering residents have made their views clear — they do not want to see the borough’s Green Belt built on.
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More than 50 residents attended a meeting last week as part of an ongoing campaign to stop plans for two large motorway service stations being built on Green Belt land near the M25.
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Havering residents are being urged to join a public Zoom meeting at 12.30pm on Friday, 24 October, to hear about the growing number of developments threatening our precious green belt land.
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Havering is facing an endless list of battles and right at the top sits the fight to save its green spaces. As one of London’s outer boroughs, Havering has long been known for its countryside feel, its open fields, and its unique mix of town and country life. But for how much longer?
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Moto Hospitality Limited wants to build two huge motorway service areas (MSAs) just north of junction 28 of the M25, but for local residents, this plan represents far more than just traffic and tarmac. It is yet another slice of Green Belt under threat, more concrete poured over fields and wildlife, and a devastating loss of the precious open space that separates our communities.
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Green Belt was once untouchable land, but now the barriers are being lowered, and our countryside no longer has the protection it once did.
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Fury as Council officers rule no environmental statement is needed as locals say a tranquil stretch of greenbelt farmland in Hornchurch is under threat as developers eye 570 new homes.
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The newly proposed English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, announced on Tuesday, promises to hand sweeping new powers to metro mayors and regional authorities.
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Residents of Hornchurch are voicing deep concern over plans to build 570 new homes, including blocks of flats, on the cherished greenbelt fields behind Wingletye Lane and the Dury Falls estate.
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As Havering faces mounting pressure to deliver new homes, the debate over our Green Belt land is intensifying. Developers, councils, and the Planning Inspectorate are all wrestling with one crucial question — is some of our Green Belt really ‘grey belt or being redefined that way to make planning easier?
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Data Centres are going up all over the country. There are around 456 across the UK already — and the number is set to soar as our hunger for digital storage grows. Yes, we all use our phones, store our photos, and rely on data every single day. But as these vast buildings rise, the question is — what are we losing?
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Havering’s Greenbelt and Wildlife Under Threat And The True Cost of Housing Development
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How much of Havering’s greenbelt will be bulldozed in a bid to build more and more flats? The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill threatens to dramatically weaken protections for green and blue spaces across England – including Havering.
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Greenbelt Grab Alert! Havering could lose thousands of acres of green space under the new London Plan. With housing targets soaring by 60%, is this the end of our countryside as we know it?
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“This bill is nothing short of a bulldozer through Britain’s last remaining wild spaces. It dresses itself up as ‘progress,’ but what it really does is silence local voices and sacrifice nature on the altar of profit.”
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