Sadiq Khan to press ministers for action on toxic 'volcano' dumping ground

The mayor of London will urge ministers to assist with clearing a toxic burning rubbish dump in east London after

The former landfill, dubbed the “Rainham volcano”, has ignited more than 160 times since 2018, causing residents coughs and itchy eyes as smoke enters homes.

The tons of dumped toxic waste smolder underground and break out into fires during the warm summer months. Locals have said they feel like “prisoners in their own home” when the fires are at their worst.

In the past three years, the London Fire Brigade said it had been summoned to the site more than 150 times. It was officially classified as contaminated land 12 months ago.

The Reform administration at Havering Town Hall – the right-wing party gained majority control at the May elections – has promised to put out the fires, with council leader Keith Prince looking to work with Lord Khan to highlight the issue.

Firefighters have been called to Launders Lane at least 150 times in three years

London Fire Brigade

After meeting with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) last week, Mr Prince asked the Labour mayor if he would write a letter “supporting our arguments that Launders Lane really must be considered for clearance”.

Lord Khan said he was “more than happy” to write to ministers at the department. In his response, the mayor said he wanted to “work together to try and make some progress here”.

The meeting between Defra and Havering was focused primarily on the fires and impacts on health, which is outside the Environmental Agency’s remit.

Councillors said they would write to Defra to seek a judicial review on the sites that have been chosen for clearance and why Launders Lane has not.

The local authority hit out earlier this year after it was announced that the Government had allocated no funding to deal with the Rainham site, where an estimated 80,000 tonnes of rubbish has been illegally dumped in Launders Lane over a more than 20 year period.

That was despite tips in Wigan, Sheffield and Lancashire, containing a combined 48,000 tonnes of waste, being earmarked for clearance by the Environment Agency, and a 20,000-tonne site in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, already being cleared at a cost of more than £9 million.

The Environment Agency provides advice on dealing with the fires, but the town hall is ultimately responsible for regulating the site and monitoring air quality.

Mayor of London, Lord Sadiq Khan, has confirmed he will write to ministers about Launders Lane

AFP/Getty

Havering Council formally designated the land as contaminated last year but the fires could continue for up to three more years due to lengthy legal processes, it was revealed in the summer.

The Clean the Air in Havering, a campaign group set up by three mothers, has previously said that time “was of the essence” and “clean air and a clean environment is a human right”.

The group has described the warmer months as “summers of hell,” as residents spend their days with the windows shut.

Mr Prince, speaking in August, said: “This is a complex and long-running issue on privately owned land, but complexity cannot be an excuse for inaction.

“The people affected deserve clean air, peace of mind and the ability to use their homes, gardens and local spaces without fear of smoke from repeated fires. That is what we are working to achieve.”

As reported by The Standard, the council wants to cover hotspots that are most prone to bursting into flames with a cement polymer covering at a cost of about £300,000.

But the local authority has claimed that landowner, Jerry O'Donovan of DMC Services Essex, withheld permission.

Agents acting for Mr O'Donovan have argued that some site work needs planning permission or further environmental assessments, and the council has not provided the legal evidence needed to justify the works.