Register of Contaminated Sites under spotlight as council presses for change
The call for a register of contaminated sites has been amplified by local councillors in east London as they contend with a former landfill that has repeatedly caught fire, taxing emergency services and blighting the lives of nearby residents.
At issue is the site at Arnolds Field in Launders Lane, Rainham, which has been officially declared contaminated following a recent judicial review. The land, once used illegally as a dumping ground and weapons store, has been the focus of intense concern after the local fire brigade was deployed some 160 times in the past three years.
“We know how residents feel about the issue of contaminated land and the distress and damage it can cause to both physical and mental health,” said Havering Council leader Ray Morgon.
So far the council has signalled support for a campaign aimed at establishing a full, public national register of contaminated land. The proposed legislation would require every local authority to maintain a regularly updated list of potentially contaminated sites, and for that data to be aggregated by the Environment Agency through a new national system available to the public.
What’s the situation at Arnolds Field?
Ecologists and council officers found in November 2023 that the site contained asbestos, plastic bags, crisp packets, bricks, cans, polystyrene and asphalt. The land has also, over a span of about twenty years, been used as an illegal weapons store and a cannabis farm.
Smoke from recurrent fires has released harmful particulates, and the council has collected evidence linking increased GP visits among people with existing respiratory conditions. In addition to physical harm, the council’s report highlights that “repeated and persistent stress, regarding an issue that is out of one’s control, for example fire and resulting smoke, is also recognised to result in negative psychological and physical reactions.”
When the High Court ordered the site to be declared contaminated it found that council officers had originally misinterpreted the legal definition of contamination by wrongly believing toxic smoke did not qualify.
A national fix in waiting
Havering Council’s cabinet is expected to formally back the proposal at its next meeting. If passed, the legislation would overhaul Britain’s approach to dealing with historic landfill and other buried toxic sites.
The campaign, named after a child whose death was linked to gas from an old landfill, calls for the Government to enforce a duty of care through comprehensive registers of toxic land. It also urges funding for councils to make sites safe and prevent future harm. More information on the initiative can be found here.
Residents living near Launders Lane have described ongoing anxiety and frustration. One local resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Every time we smell the smoke we feel helpless. We don’t know how safe the ground underneath us really is.”
Council leader Morgon acknowledged the challenge facing under-funded local authorities: “We will therefore be lobbying the government and our local MPs to see this through Parliament.”
While the motion has gained traction, the Government has yet to introduce primary legislation to enact these proposals. For now, at Arnolds Field, the fire brigade continues to respond, soil samples continue to be tested and the community continues to await meaningful resolution.
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