Protecting the vulnerable: taking legal action over landfill fires
Ruth Kettle-Frisby explains why she's taking action against Havering Council in a bid for cleaner air in her local area.
Two years ago, two other local mums and I set up Clear the Air in Havering to support clean air initiatives including School Streets and the expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to Greater London by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Air pollution is a thorny topic where I live; legitimate concerns are frequently entangled with politicised ideology, car culture, and Islamophobia. As a group connected to Mums for Lungs, we wanted to raise awareness about air pollution, tackle misinformation and champion the right to clean air for everyone.
Rainham is an area in Havering – one of the most deprived in London – that is at the sharp end of the harmful health impacts (including asthma, dementia, psychotic episodes in teenagers, stunted lung growth and premature death) of air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter.
Rainham is a dumping ground for quarries and, for 20 years, has been plagued by a vast illegal rubbish dump on privately owned Arnolds Field, Launders Lane.
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During the heat of each summer, it catches fire and great black plumes of smoke fill the air in nearby playgrounds and schools, which are never shut.
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The site is one of the highest methane-emitting sites in the UK, and smoulders all year round with underground fires. During the heat of each summer, it catches fire and great black plumes of smoke fill the air in nearby playgrounds and schools, which are never shut. Children, especially those with existing health conditions, suffer disproportionately.
Enough is enough and I have taken the opportunity to take Havering Council to court via a judicial review as a desperate last resort to put these fires out and bring justice to forgotten Rainham children. Mishcon de Reya LLP and I have sent a pre-action letter to Havering Council to challenge their recent decision not to designate the land as contaminated. If we are successful, Havering Council and the Environment Agency will have specific legal obligations to clean up the site once and for all.
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If we are successful, Havering Council and the Environment Agency will have specific legal obligations to clean up the site once and for all.
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It is clear that the marginalised geographic and socio-economic nature of this public health emergency plays a huge role in this continued negligence. The Launders Lane crisis speaks to my inmost Light: why is my heart so firmly embedded in the Quaker faith if not to connect with and uphold the Light we all share leaving nobody behind? Globally, previously colonised nations continue to be harmed and traumatised by White supremacist greed, while capitalist leaders place economic growth above social and environmental justice; locally, vulnerable people suffer invisibly, including children with cancer.
This legal action is in my name, and while I am not remotely well off (I rent a small maisonette), this is the right thing to do for Rainham children. Cleaning up Launders Lane is how I'm putting my faith into action because clean air should be a right for all children, who – with no culpability – suffer the greatest harm.
If you'd like to support the campaign or learn more, please contact faithinaction@quaker.org.uk