'Rainham volcano' could continue amid legal action

Fires at a former illegal waste dump in east London, dubbed the "Rainham volcano", could continue for another two to three years due to potentially lengthy legal proceedings, according to a council report.

Arnolds Field on Launders Lane has caught fire more than 160 times since 2018, with nearby residents reporting coughs, itchy eyes and more frequent visits to their GP.

Havering Council formally designated the privately owned site as contaminated land last October and said it could intervene if the owner failed to carry out remediation work.

The landowner - who did not dump the waste there - said his position would "remain fully reserved" until any legal case had been formed.

Jerry O'Donovan, of DMC Services (Essex) purchased the land in 2017 and said he had been trying to work with the council on a plan to clear the site since 2018.

He added that the council had repeatedly failed to respond to requests for information and advice and had ignored his attempts to initiate work at the site.

According to the council, about 50,000 cubic metres of waste was illegally dumped at the former landfill site between 2010 and 2015.

It says that waste, including hazardous and non-inert material, was the root cause of the ongoing fires, which campaign group Clear the Air in Havering said had created "summers of hell".

The authority said it had hoped to implement a temporary solution before this summer by covering key hotspots with a cement polymer covering (CPC), designed to restrict oxygen reaching buried waste to prevent fires.

However, the scheme failed to progress after DMC Services withheld permission for the work to be carried out on its land.

O'Donovan told the BBC he refused because the council had not provided the legal or technical evidence needed to justify the scheme and argued some of the proposed works would require planning permission or further environmental assessments.

However, the council's report said it had now exhausted the legally required process of seeking a voluntary solution and was preparing a remediation notice requiring specified parties to take action to address the fires and smoke pollution.

It could be two or three years before the council is able to use its powers to step in and carry out the work itself.

Havering's Reform UK administration, elected in May, pledged to stop the blazes, and councillors agreed last week to begin preparing the remediation notice.

If the owner fails to comply, they could face fines and the council could ultimately carry out the work itself using its "step-in" powers.

The council estimates those works could cost up to £200,000.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Council leader Keith Prince said: "Residents living near Launders Lane have put up with fires, smoke, disruption and anxiety for far too long.

"I want to be absolutely clear: this administration stands with them, and we will do everything within the council's powers to stop the fires and end this misery.

Representatives for O'Donovan said: "The current landowner did not deposit the waste responsible for the present condition of Arnolds Field.

"His position in relation to any Remediation Notice must therefore remain fully reserved until the Council's evidential case, identification of the appropriate persons and proposed remediation requirements are known.

"There is no disagreement that a solution is required. The issue is how a safe, lawful, effective and lasting solution is achieved."

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