Havering’s Air Quality and the Launders Lane Scandal (part two)

Between 2014 and 2022 Launders Lane was ignored.¹ A known disaster zone² that was dismissed by everyone. The toxic infill caused dozens of fires across the site. Also in 2022, grass fires devastated Wennington Village with 18 houses destroyed. Political panic stations!

Politicians either follow, or don’t, the CEO’s advice but they carry the can. Councillors shouldn’t defer to advice, they should critique it. That’s the theory.

Frankie Walker (1:06)³ asked about timescales for the Launders Lane action plan: the ultimate question. The CEO’s response was pure, Yes Minister.⁴

After some exchanges with Frankie, the CEO said timescales were out of the question! External factors like: Planning permission; the Environment Agency; Contracts and a Judicial Review stood in the way. The delay could be years.Negotiations with the landowner were ‘slow’. The CEO (1:10) feeds HRA’s culture of helplessness. Ray Morgon (1:16) said legislation was unhelpful but,

We’re absolutely committed to action but unfortunately we are prevented by factors beyond our control.

Frankie was unimpressed and councillors began their probing, forensic scrutiny.

Matt Stanton (1:16 and 2:11) was impressive. He asked whether officers had critiqued their performance from 2014. He worried how an escalating situation was unnoticed. His point became apposite when the director of planning (2:03) confirmed the emerging status of ‘Grey Belt’ land. Green Belt land could deteriorate into Grey Belt and become developable.

Judith Holt (1:20) drilled into asbestos related health risks. The asbestos on the land isn’t seen as a health risk. The Environmental Agency officer (1:24) tried, and failed, to calm her worries.

Jason Frost (1: 34) was very measured. He wondered if legislation could be changed. This remote possibility brought the CEO into soothing mode.

Christine Smith (1:38) built on Judith’s pointy by speculating on Zane’s Law.⁵

Ray Best (2:01) wondered whether brown belt land could be deliberately created as a strategy by landowners. The director was alive to this foreseeable problem.

Jacqueline Williams (2:08) worried about the legal status of the company. She was reassured by the CEO.

Throughout the meeting David Taylor was a model of chairmanship. He maintained the pace of the lengthy discussion drawing out points, which hadn’t had a good airing. He was inclusive. The meeting was a splendid advert for scrutiny by well informed councillors. There were probing forensic questions and answers were not always accepted as gospel.

Notes

1 Conservative-Resident Association (2014-18) and Conservatives (2018-22). Ray Morgon’s HRA (2022-present) inherited the scandal.

2 A court case resulted in imprisonment for the principals in 2014

3 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for People Overview & Scrutiny Sub Committee, 21/10/2025 19:00 The report is very detailed and lengthy. For the webcast see Annotator Player All times relate to this (1 hour 6 minutes becomes 1:06)

4 40 years ago there was a popular BBC series which satirised the relationship between ministers and advisors. Advisors were seen as manipulating and treating ministers with barely concealed contempt. It’s still available on iPlayer.

5 Please Havering Council Support Zane’s Law To Ensure Robust Regulation Of Contaminated Land. – The Havering Daily

Havering’s Air Quality and the Launders Lane Scandal (part one)

This Scrutiny Committee did a very good job.¹ Stakeholders were present from the community, alongside senior officers of organisations involved in air quality and the Launders Lane scandal. All the participants made contributions, which were very interesting and informative.

The Fire Brigade

The Borough Commander said (57minutes) the Launders Lane scandal dominates his work. He’s spent a hundred hours strategising, creating a safe working environment and on-site direction. Launders Lane is unique. Fire-fighters can’t access the site because it’s unstable. The surface of the land conceals cavernous holes. The holes, and toxic air, are a dangerous working environment for fire fighters.

Public Health

The borough Director was chilling (11) about air pollution.²

‘The science is now overwhelming; air pollution is a major driver of disease across the life course – from low birth weight and childhood asthma to heart attacks and dementia. It must be recognised and treated as a public health issue.³

The Director said, 5.7% of deaths in Havering were air pollution related (1:24). It’s impossible to directly attribute deaths to the Launders Lane fires because of Havering’s poor air quality.⁴ Air pollution is invisible except when spewing out of land accompanied by fire. The Director was saying, in effect, Launders Lane draws attention to Havering’s permanent air pollution. Astonishingly, he said (1:46) the air pollution adjacent to Romford bus depot was worse than that of Launders Lane. As a consequence, he couldn’t recommend specific health warnings other than boroughwide.

Community Representatives

Rainham Against Pollution (45) Their representative felt the only way to deal with Launders Lane was to flatten the land. There were comments on the grim outcomes for residents of living with constant fires and being ‘prisoners’ in their homes during the summer months.

Friends of the Earth (51) Their representative pointed out that dumping toxic materials which led to fires wasn’t unique. Land had been successfully remediated and lessons were there to be learned.

Clear the Air in Havering (54) Their representative spoke evocatively about the health impacts of polluted air. The health crisis has been created by poor decision-making and a lack of urgency.

Conclusion

The ultra-late decision by HRA to declare Launders Lane ‘contaminated’ looked suspiciously timed to stifle debate. It failed. Part Two discusses the councillors’ debate, which was probing and forensic.

Notes

1 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for People Overview & Scrutiny Sub Committee, 21/10/2025 19:00 for the webcast see Annotator Player All times relate to this (57 minutes becomes 57)

2 Health matters: air pollution – GOV.UK This is a national study For Havering the government has produced a comprehensive study How health has changed in your area – Office for National Statistics Air pollution worsened between 2015 and 2021 and is about 10% above the national average

3 Air pollution linked to 30,000 UK deaths in 2025 and costs the economy and NHS billions, warns Royal College of Physicians | RCP

4 London’s ULEZ cut air pollution — high vehicle compliance left little room for post-expansion gains – University of Birmingham This paper is about London in general. However, see Havering’s ULEZ Data (davidtaylor.online) Here there is evidence that Havering’s air pollution has been reduced by ULEZ see also Havering, ULEZ and Public Health – Politics in Havering

School Blazers: A Stealth Tax on Education?

An education stealth tax goes like this:

Children must attend school
Children must wear school uniform
Pay up, or else!

When schools insist on clothing with logos, they increase prices. The government says this is unacceptable. (see Addendum). But they didn’t tackle the cost of school blazers. Blazers are an expensive item of compulsory school clothing. Havering’s parents pay excessive amounts for blazers, which are a relic of a by-gone era.¹

To save researching all 18 of Havering’s schools I reviewed six, which is a good sample. They are in alphabetical order.

Abbs Cross blazer costs between £38:50 and £41:50; Bower Park: £37:50-£45.50; Drapers: £35:50-£43.99; Emerson Park: £32-£45; Gaynes: £38.50-£41.50; Hall Mead: £34-£40.

Havering has nearly 18,000 secondary students. Wearing blazers is compulsory. A heroic estimate, based on experience, says students need three blazers in their school years. The Havering blazer ‘bill’ is huge. There are a variety of prices but let’s assume an average price of £40.

Compulsory school blazers is a £2,160,000 ‘tax bill’

Two million pounds plus requires an explanation when it’s claimed to be as important as attendance. So, what do schools say?

Abbs Cross “…all students to be in full school uniform and be suitably dressed for P.E., Games and Swimming.⁴

Bower Park “We insist on the following simple, but smart, uniform for all students at the academy.”⁵

Drapers “There is no compromise on the uniform. Parents are asked for their unwavering support in transforming standards at every level.”⁶ (my emphasis)

Emerson Park We have a smart and practical uniform which must be worn during school hours and when pupils travel to and from the Academy….whilst also presenting a good image of the Academy to the community.⁷ (my emphasis)

Gaynes They list ten items of clothing, which are compulsory. Additionally, there are 49 words of *guidance* on hairstyles. The *guidance* can be summarised as, “If we don’t like it, you can’t do it”. There is no explanation for any of this.⁸

Hall Mead The Academy has a strict policy on school uniform. This policy should be read in conjunction with the Academy’s Behaviour and Attendance Policy, as disciplinary sanctions may be imposed for breach.⁹(my emphasis)

It’s absurd to believe that any teacher who has stepped outside the school gates for 30 seconds can believe that blazers are anything other than an oddity. For them to also believe that blazers are critical to learning, compounds the absurdity. Yet, Havering’s schools do believe blazers are very important. They enforce their absurd beliefs with ferocious penalties. (see note 6 for the penalties Drapers school inflicts.)

Havering’s schools are locked in a performative tautology. Blazers are compulsorybecause they are. Blazers are co-equal with attendance in the eyes of senior management.

Addendum: Statutory advice on school uniforms

Single supplier contracts should be avoided unless regular tendering competitions are run where more than one supplier can compete for the contract and where the best value for money is secured. This contract should be retendered at least every 5 years….Schools should keep the use of branded items to a minimum. (my emphasis)

Source Cost of school uniforms – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Notes

1 Schools often provide access to second hand uniforms.

2 Abbs Cross Academy – SCHOOL UNIFORM DIRECT For the other five schools just follow the links on their websites

3 Havering has 17,951 secondary school students

4 Uniform – Abbs Cross Academy

5 Uniform-Expectations.pdf

6 Uniform – Drapers’ Academy see also Policy Title: p7 Internal Exclusion Room The Internal Exclusion Room (IER) is used as an alternative to external suspension. Pupils work for one day or more, determined by SLT, and complete their classwork in a separate supervised environment. They have a shortened supervised break and lunch at a different time to other pupils. (my emphasis)

Drapers use the Internal Exclusion Room to enforce discipline. Students are punished by having their educational opportunities reduced. Uniform is seen as co-equal with nine other infractions: Point 3: Arriving to school in incorrect uniform and refusing to address this.

7 Emerson Park Academy – Uniform

8 Uniform – Gaynes School

9 Uniform – Hall Mead School

Havering’s International Hospitality Hub: Hornchurch

Fluttering St George’s Flags announce English patriotism on Hornchurch High Street. On either side of those flags is international hospitality. Although I walk on the High Street daily I had no idea how blessed we are with an incredible variety in hospitality. Hornchurch is the hub of this blessing.

It’s about half a mile from Abbs Cross Lane to Station Lane. That half mile has intense activity. There are 43 hospitality businesses plying for trade. They represent a substantial part of the world’s cuisine. Twelve different nationalities can be found (see Addendum)¹.

British food is far and away the biggest but doesn’t add up to half of the 43 businesses. Some of are very local. French’s café has been in Hornchurch for 80 years,² which is the record. Hornchurch has behemoths like J J Moon, and others serving ‘pub grub’. The two Costa Coffee shops are owned by Coca Cola.³ Chains are from all nationalities. For example, the Giggling Squid is Thai and Nando’s isSouth African.

Conclusion

There is every sort of dining experience in Hornchurch from cafes with a few tables and limited hours, to full-scale dining for a special destination meal.

Addendum: The International scene in Hornchurch

British (16), USA (5), Indian and Italian (4 each), Turkish (3), Chinese, French, Japanese, and Thai (2 each), Greek, South African and Vietnamese (1 each)

Notes

1 Where it is an international chain, I’ve allocated it to the *home* country e.g. Starbucks is American.

2 See Café Society: Hornchurch – Politics in Havering

3 I’ve credited Costa Coffee as British because it started here.

Keith Prince and the Reform Party

Keith is a career politician. He’s spent his life making political calculations which were for his party, the community and himself.¹ In local political terms he’s been very successful.² Keith earns £66,390 as a GLA member plus his Havering allowance of £10,750. His calculation is probable oblivion with the Conservative Party, or, a Reform Party triumph.³

Keith is a career politician. He has his eyes on the Rosindell fiefdom, which is the Romford constituency. Keith licked his lips at Andrew’s nail-biting *victory* in 2024. It was the beginning of a trend. The tectonic plates of British politics have shifted and destroyed old certainties.⁴ The shift will destroy politicians who aren’t agile enough to go with the flow.

ULEZ and Brexit showed the powerful undercurrents of dissatisfaction in Britain. People are taking back control from career politicians who have failed them since 2010. The colonization of lamp-posts for the St George flag is another powerful symbol of a desire for fundamental change. People are tired of career politicians pivoting around focus groups.

Radical change is hated by career politicians. Their cute sound-bites are destroyed and they have to produce a new narrative, which sounds insincere to a sceptical public. Career politicians are a disaster. They live in a bubble, which is self-reinforcing and ignores the wishes and desires of the public. Well now they have a wake-up call.

Keith has gambled and Andrew is a born-again Thatcherite.⁵

Notes

1 Keith Prince vs Damian White: 2022 Conservative Leadership Contest – Politics in Havering

2 Salaries, expenses, benefits and workforce information | London City Hall

3 Havering’s election is in 2026 and the GLA in 2028

4 Julia Lopez and Andrew Rosindell ~ Back from the Brink, July 2024 – Politics in Havering

5 Andrew Rosindell and the Reform Party – Politics in Havering and see also BREAKING: Havering Has Its First Reform Councillor As Keith Prince Defects. – The Havering Daily

Andrew Rosindell and the Reform Party

Margaret Thatcher divided Conservatives into two groups: One of Us and everyone else. The first group were rewarded. MPs became ministers and received a peerage after loyal service. Everyone else was shunned.

The five Conservative Prime Ministers from 2010 to 2024 worshipped Thatcher and behaved accordingly. They went to Oxford. Andrew went to Marshalls Park comprehensive. He wasn’t One of Us and didn’t get a glittering prize.

Andrew’s been an outsider for 24 years, unlike Julia Lopez.¹ This is soul sapping. A ‘toe-in-the-water’ with the Brexit party and UKIP was by-passed as he judged them to be flaky. Farage, with his third political party, has struck lucky. Reform are storming the polls with Conservatives languishing in third place. Andrew thinks they are finished,

“I think Conservatives and Reform supporters should be engaging with each other and unite …. there is no certainty that the party will bounce back easily and we cannot risk another five years of Labour after the next election.²

Andrew doesn’t believe the Conservatives will get even a ‘dead cat bounce’³ in 2029. He must decide. Leave the sinking ship or cling on? But has Farage peaked too early? That’s the crux of Andrew’s problem.

Decisions! Decisions!

Notes

1 Hornchurch and Upminster’s MP: Julia Lopez – Politics in Havering If she flirted with Reform then the Conservatives really would be in a death spiral.

2 Romford MP Says Its Time Tories And Reform Unite To Defeat Labour. – The Havering Daily

3 Dead Cat Bounce: What It Means in Investing, With Examples

Havering Cabinet Meeting, 3rd September: The Launders Lane Debate

The cabinet was instructed to report on 20+ years of the appalling situation in Launders Lane, Rainham.¹ HRA aren’t to blame.² They inherited this débâcle from Conservative administrations. But HRA’s three+ years of inertia is haunting them. They really, really want to be positive but lawyers, and legislation, are stifling their ambitions. The crushing defeat in the Judicial Review³on their decision-making about Launders Lane hasn’t taught them anything. Luckily for HRA, the opposition hasn’t learned anything from the Judicial Review either.

The cabinet meeting was a parallel monologue between the Chief Executive (CE) and Leader. It was tightly scripted. For example, between the 5^th and 9^th minute Ray and the CE echoed each other.⁴ They monotonously blamed lawyers. Firstly, the legislation was unclear and secondly, they were cautiously trying to get the ‘right decision’. The dynamic duo said the Judicial Review had castigated them for being too quick. (see addendum). This went unchallenged because opposition councillors hadn’t read the Judicial Review.

Gillian Ford chipped in. She said that the concept of smoke wasn’t legally clear-cut and this caused problems with attributing health risks to Launders Lane fires. A legal ruling might impact on bonfires, which would be a disaster. Later she said the Judicial Review had caused delays in the decision-making process. She implied it was a ‘Bad Thing’ and the people of Launders Lane only had themselves to blame for delays.

Keith Darvill worried, in his cautious, hesitant way, about the lack of urgency. He was told he knew about legal delays because he’s a solicitor, which I thought was cruel.

Mostly it was self-serving drivel but one gem made the torture of listening to speeches through a brick wall using a milk bottle worthwhile. The CE said that finance wasn’t a consideration in the decision-making.This was endorsed by Ray Morgon. Activists should be dancing in the streets.

Addendum: The Judicial Review, paragraph 105
“I [the judge]am concerned that the LA [Local Authority] appear to have been very confused about the correct legal approach to this site through the decision making process.” (my emphasis)

Notes

1 FORM A These are the cabinet papers for the Launders Lane discussion. The webcast audio was abysmal Annotator Player
2 HRA is an umbrella organisation uniting Resident Associations. RAs worshipped ‘Letting sleeping dogs lie’.

3 Clear the Air in Havering, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Havering [2025] EWHC 1492 (Admin) (17 June 2025)

4 Normally I’d cite times but the recording was so abysmal, I suffered on your behalf.

Romford’s Conservatives Prepare for 2026

Romford Conservatives have had a torrid time since 2022. They lost control of the council for the first time since 2002 to HRA.¹ Then they fell apart. They’ve had defections and three leaders in three years. Slowing the terminal decline is Mission Impossible.

Worse! There’s a right-wing alternative biting their ankles. The Reform Party is a private company owned by Nigel Farage as an off-shoot to his ego. They are a novelty and will give the Conservatives, HRA and Labour a hard time in 2026.

Romford Conservatives have a Rosindell loyalty test,

“I [Rosindell] am pleased that in Romford, we now have a united and loyal team of Conservative candidates, who will work with me to secure victory next year.” (my emphasis)²

Havering-atte-Bower is interesting. John Crowder defected to HRA, Damian White sulked for three years, and Ray Best has retired – did he want to? So, three newbies in what was a safe ward.

Marshalls and Rise Park had two defections and Conservatives have deselected Osman Dervish – unless he retired. This *safe*(?) seat has attracted two footloose and fancy-free councillors: Robert Benham and Nisha Patel. Did they make a good choice? Roll on 2026.

St Edward’s has been culled as Rosindell worries about loyalty. All three councillors have been ousted. Nisha Patel legged it before getting the bullet. Astonishingly, David Taylor was deselected because he is an effective campaigner. Veteran councillor Joshua Chapman left. Why? Who knows? Three newbies in a competitive election looks like poor tactics. But Rosindell has won elections and possibly knows what he’s doing.

Addendum: Political groups and their candidates

No word on HRA candidates apart from the chaotic St Edward’s. They are persisting with RA cliques for their candidates.

Hornchurch Conservatives will probably have a ring round for candidates in January to maintain the pretence that they are a political party. Does Julia Lopez know?

Labour will probably get round to announcing candidates.

Reform will take anyone that comes along.

Notes

1 HRA are an umbrella organisation cobbled together from Resident Association groups.

2 NEW TEAM 23 CANDIDATES SELECTED TO FIGHT HAVERING LOCAL ELECTIONS IN ROMFORD | Romford

Havering’s Council Meeting, 3rd September 2025 (part two)

Motions for Debate¹

Motions are the lifeblood of council meetings. Policy is discussed and scrutinised.² Havering’s housing crisis is caused by sky high house prices, student debt and massive deposits. Family networks and communities are broken up.

Two motions about housing were interesting. After Paul McGeary’s train crash answer about HMOs,³ the motion became redundant. Social Housing⁴ is sadly neglected. There are low profits for house-builders and politicians seem to dislike poor people. The Conservative motion was a wonderful surprise.

“This Council recommends a revision of the Mercury Land Holdings business plan, to focus the company on delivering much needed social homes and driving down temporary accommodation costs.” Motion B

David Taylor (1:40) made a brilliant speech. He explained the economics of social housing as a win-win for the council and those in need of secure, regulated housing. Additionally, the community benefits of social housing were discussed in compelling detail. David linked the HMO debate by showing social housing is vastly superior and a cheaper option than HMOs. David was supported whole-heartedly by Keith Darvill (1:50) and Frankie Walker (1:58). For Conservatives to get support from Labour is encouraging. It shows councillors aren’t party robots.

Graham Williamson ((1:45) doesn’t understand his brief. He spent five minutes trying to remember what officers had said prior to the council meeting. He failed. Likewise, finance defeats him. Graham doesn’t do his homework or, just doesn’t get it. Ray Morgon (2:01) winged it. He should have done a forensic analysis of David’s speech and responded.

The result? HRA lost the vote (2:07) but will it change policy? Meanwhile…..

3,000 residents languish on council housing waiting lists

Addendum: Singing the National Anthem

The Mayor (2:13) introduced the National Anthem – badly. This prefaced the worst singing I’ve ever heard. It destroyed the dignity of the National Anthem. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Notes

1 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 03/09/2025 19:30 The Motions for debate The webcast is at Annotator Player All times for speeches refer to this webcast

2 Eight councillors were absent or, 14.5%. This is average and still shocks me.

3 HMOs = Housing of multiple occupancy see also Havering’s Council Meeting, 3rd September 2025 – Politics in Havering

4 What is social housing? – Shelter England

Havering’s Council Meeting, 3rd September 2025

Question Time (QT)¹

The 2026 election is fast approaching. QT is designed for councillors to strut their stuff prior to the election. Penetrating questions are asked to embarrass the Administration and make colleagues cheer. There’s a flurry of newsletters, Havering Daily articles and an inner-glow after flaunting their excellence for constituents.

So how did they do?

Two types of questions. The dedicated ward councillor working hard highlighting failures of the Administration. The second type relates to scrutiny of performance. At this meeting the balance was 50:50.

Local Issues

Jane Keane (23 minutes and 33)² asked questions on fly-tipping and air pollution from idling cars. Barry Mugglestone disliked the idea of a ‘Wall of Shame’ for fly-tippers. He was cornered because of its novelty and wasn’t sure how popular it might be. Philip Ruck (17) didn’t appreciate only the police could enforce the 20 mph zones. Darren Wise (26) was brushed off about recycling bags. Robert Benham (45) was also brushed off by Barry, who had returned to form.

Policy Issues

Questions about policy are embarrassing for HRA because cabinet members are weak. Graham Williamson didn’t know social and affordable housing are different categories in his answer to David Taylor’s (27) question. Likewise, Chris Wilkins. He floundered answering a penetrating question from Martin Goode (15). The question related to LBH’s bankruptcy and his lack of understanding made me flinch.

Paul McGeary plumbed the depths of ignorance. He said *ILLEGAL* HMOs³ weren’t shut down because they added to the homeless figures. Housing can be completely illegal and it doesn’t matter as long as tenants don’t turn up on the council’s doorstep. This was an *answer* to Tim Ryan’s (30) brilliant question. Is it the case that Havering ratifies *ILLEGAL* HMOs to massage the housing figures? Is this policy?

Conclusion

QTs was good for the Opposition parties but will they build on their successes? Probably not.

Notes

1 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 03/09/2025 19:30 The QT questions The webcast is at Annotator Player

2 Times refer to the webcast

3 HMO = houses of multiple occupation