Havering’s Data Centre Consultation, 25th March 2026

The consultation meeting held at the Town Hall was challenging. The room was inadequate. Neither the acoustics nor sightlines aided discussion. These problems were exacerbated by a chair who was inexperienced. Panel members huddled defensively behind computer screens instead of standing and clearly addressing the meeting. As a result, members of the public were helplessly holding up their hands for inordinate periods of time.

Havering’s Friends of the Earth: A Visualisation

The group¹ have produced a visualisation to aid understanding. The link is here:

HFoE – VDC Tour

Greenwashing

As with all intrusive industrialisation projects, there are heroic efforts to greenwash. The pretence is that there is an environmental gain from the industrial use of the Green Belt. The offer here is an ‘ecology park’ and small-scale agriculture.

This is a tragic lost opportunity. The Data Centre will become Havering’s industrial frontier. Why not go the whole hog? Why not pivot towards intensive industrial farming?² Another warehouse would fit in visually and help meet Britain’s insatiable desire for salad food all year round. Industrial farming would curb imports and the destructive carbon footprint miles.

The ‘ecology park’ is comically misplaced. It’s as appropriate as putting it at the junction of the M25 and A13. Far better would be land south of Albyns Farm in Hornchurch Country Park.³ A sensitive development would enhance the ‘jewel in the crown’ that is the country park. It’s possible to imagine the ‘ecology park’ being a destination if placed in a country park. It is impossible to imagine people having a day out next to industrial warehouses.

Finally

Section 106 agreements could show ambition. A Data Centre is massively intrusive and alters the character of Havering. The Council should be demanding significant and bold investment in Havering as a mitigation of the industrialisation of the Green Belt.

Notes

1 Havering Friends of the Earth

2 Vertical Farming Transforms The Farm-to-Fork Supply Chain

3 Havering’s Finest Park – Politics in Havering

Havering’s Environment Election Hustings, 17th March 2026

Hustings used to be feisty. Heckling was a sport. Violent arguments between different factions were routine. Candidates¹ had to be quick witted as they faced a barrage of unscripted questions and abuse. Times change.

Havering Cyclists organised the event. It was chaired by Rob Enifer of the Romford Town Wombles. There was a genteel discussion of environmental issues in Havering. Questions² were pre-distributed to candidates, and no-one was ‘ambushed’. They were given two minutes for initial replies. It was fair, purposeful and informative.

The event was lucky with its candidates. They all showed a deep awareness of the principal issues. Gillian Ford had an excellent command of the issues and constantly referred to current Council policy achievements. She was well prepared, which fulfilled the organisers strategy of avoiding waffle.

Keith Darvill, Q1 (see below), interestingly said that he thought housing issues were the principal environmental challenge facing Havering.

Mark Whiley, Q2, hoped for innovative use of public land that was under-utilised.

Q3 was intractable for every candidate. Launders Lane is privately owned and the Council is apparently being held to ransom. A serious problem without an obvious solution.

Q4 Thomas Clark focused on the quality of pavements as well as dangerous roads as negatives for cycling. He worried about traffic flows, toxic air and traffic volumes.

The Q&A session

There was a telling exchange about the possibility, in Havering, of safer walking, wheeling and cycling for children and adults (Q4). Every candidate said this would fail. Mark Whiley said he felt unsafe on his bike. Thomas Clarke cited roads and pavements (again) and added potholes to his list of woes. Keith Darvill spoke of the lawlessness of drivers in regard to speed limits. Gillian Ford commented on Havering’s elderly population.

Surprisingly the last Q&A question referred to the proposed Data Centre. Answers were anodyne and reflected the grim inevitability of it going ahead with, or without, support from the Council. The issue is currently out to consultation.³

Addendum: Conservative and Reform UK

Neither party attended the hustings. Rightly or wrongly, it was believed they avoided the event because they are lukewarm on environmental issues. They avoided scrutiny of a critically important matter for a Green Borough. Havering is 50% ‘Green Belt’ and the management and promotion of that asset is cherishing the ‘Golden Goose’. It was noted that Reform UK’s Keith Prince made a song-and-dance at the recent Planning Committee about the Data Centre. Neither he, nor his representative, were present at the Environment Hustings to defend that position, which looks like political opportunism.

Notes

1 The candidates were,

 Councillor Gillian Ford, HRA Deputy Leader

 Councillor Keith Darvill, Labour Group Leader

 Thomas Clarke from Havering Lib Dems and

 Mark Whiley from Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party

2 The questions for every candidate were,

Q1) What’s your long-term vision for a cleaner, greener Havering and what would you prioritise as the most pressing issue?

Q2) Do you acknowledge the nature and climate crisis and what does that mean to you in terms of public investment and community involvement in Havering?

Q3) How will you resolve the Launders Lane environmental issues?

Q4) To what extent will you commit to safer walking, wheeling and cycling for children and adults in Havering?

Q5) Will you commit to keeping the ‘Green Forum’ running following the Local Elections in May, and what new ideas would you like to see added to this Forum?

3 Consultation procedure for the data centre East Havering Data Centre Consultation | London Borough of Havering

Havering Council Meeting, 19th November 2025 (part two)

Motions¹probe the Administration. Labour and the Conservatives failed to prove that they are a better alternative.

Labour’s motion was on tree management and falling trees. The Conservatives considered the reduction of hours at Romford Police Station, which Havering isn’t responsible for.

Ray Morgon is lucky having a weak disorganised opposition.

Tree management

Labour: Keith Darvill (1 hour 12)² blamed ‘climate change’ for falling trees. Jane Keane (1:37) promoted volunteer tree wardens

HRA: Barry Mugglestone (1:17) was thin skinned. Gerry O’Sullivan (1:33) defended him. Reg Whitney (1:37) said falling trees was a national problem.

Conservatives: David Taylor (1:20) was worried about trees, Judith Holt (1:28) and Tim Ryan (1:35) wallowed in local knowledge.

East Havering RAs: Brian Eagling (1:21) and Martin Goode (1:25) talked about themselves.

Reform: Keith Prince (1:31) nit-picked. He enjoys this even when no-one else does.

Everyone agreed that randomly falling trees are a ‘Bad Thing’.

Romford Police Station

Conservatives: David (1:49) said a 24 hour front desk was vital to public safety. Dilip Patel (2:10) and Judith (2:11) saw a Labour plot in the reduction.

Labour: Keith D. (1:54) thought a review was a good idea. Jane (2:09) said it wasn’t.

Residents’ Association IG: John Tyler’s (1:57) ‘Good Old Days’ thoughts were from his days as a police officer.

Reform: Keith P. (2:00) dislikes Mayor Khan. He’s vitriolic. Keith is petulant and it spoils the flow – such as it is.

HRA: Stephanie Nunn (2:07) felt lied to about the reduction. Barry (2:08) said voting Labour worked and cited Margaret Mullane’s lobbying successes in Dagenham. Reg (2:09) said Havering was lucky to have a police station at all.

Hostility to Mayor Khan ignores a changing world and budget deficits.

Perhaps better motions would encourage councillors³ who were absent to come next time?

Notes

1 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 19/11/2025 19:30 These are the emotions for debate

2 Annotator Player Times relate to this site

3 Councillors Anderson, Benham, Best, Chapman, Glass, McArdle, McKeever, Ruck, Tumilty, Vickery, Williams, White D, and White M. Councillors Anderson and Tumilty have long-term illnesses No explanations are needed otherwise. This is a quarter of all councillors. For attendance over the last six months see Councillors attendance summary, 29 May 2025 – 21 November 2025 | London Borough of Havering

Hornchurch Country Park: Squadrons Approach to Berwick Ponds

There are number of walks beginning in the Country Park’s spacious car park. The easiest is walking in a more-or-less a straight line down to Albyn’s Farm pond and returning for a cup of tea at the lovely cafe. The walk has a good surface for its entire length so ordinary shoes are OK. There are views about half way along from the top of a steepish slope. This is wonderful if you have a child who wants to run and suddenly realises it’s steeper than it looks.

Both walks are about two miles.

The next one is with the café to the left. Keep going for about a quarter of a mile and turn left. In front of you is a Bailey Bridge. This is a relic of the Second World War. It was originally used by the army in Europe after D-Day.

A Bailey Bridge in use in 1944 in France

After the bridge walk about 100 yards. There’s a signpost, which is easy to ignore as it has graffiti on it, but go to the right. You are leaving the gravel path and the surface is unmade. Walk for about 300 yards and there is another signpost. Take the route to Berwick Ponds. Again, the path is unmade. If there has been a lot of rain it will be muddy!

The ponds are serene and will reward for your efforts. The café is a great place to reward yourself after your exertions.

photograph Graham Carr Taken in late January 2024

A George Washington Moment

Dagnam Park Invaders

Dagnam Park has hundreds of deer who are destroying the natural habitat.¹The deer are so numerous that they are a visible threat to the environment amongst other challenges. The ecology of Dagnam Park is in constant flux. There are three ‘invaders’ which are now part of the beauty of the park. Purists hate invaders and sometimes they really are hateful.

Harlequin Ladybird

Originally from Asia, the harlequin ladybird first arrived in the UK in 2004, and has rapidly become one of the most common ladybirds in the country, particularly in towns and gardens. It is one of our larger species and is a voracious predator – it is able to out-compete our native species for aphid-prey and will also eat other ladybirds’ eggs and larvae. It can have multiple broods throughout the spring, summer and autumn, which also gives it a competitive edge.²

Spanish Bluebell

…just because it’s blue, bell-shaped and blooming in a wood in early spring it doesn’t mean it’s our native bluebell……a common favourite in gardens across the land – have been escaping into the wild for over 100 years. In fact, one in six broadleaved woodlands surveyed by Plantlife across the UK were found to contain a Spanish Bluebell or a hybrid between the two.³

Yellow Necked Terrapin

Habitat: Prefers still or slow-flowing water. Commonly found in urban parks…They are opportunistic omnivores and predate on invertebrates, fish and amphibians. They often use the banks of water bodies to bask, which can disturb the nests of waterfowl such as Moorhens and thus interfere with breeding.⁴

Conclusion

Dagnam Park, like parks across the whole world, is constantly evolving. Foreign invaders are easily identified, though they might not be easily dealt with. Other changes are driven by invisible factors. They include the climate emergency, pollution, mankind – housing, leisure, agriculture – and seasonal variations all alter the habitat. Foreign invaders are however especially important as the people of Florida have found out with their python problem.⁵

Notes

1 See Havering’s Deer Should be Culled – Politics in Havering

2 Harlequin ladybird | The Wildlife Trusts

3 Plantlife :: What’s the Difference Between Spanish and English Bluebells?

4 This quote is from Northern Ireland but it still holds good for Dagnam Park NIEA-ID-Guide-Trachemys-scripta-spp-Terrapins.pdf (invasivespeciesireland.com)

5 For the problems that Florida, USA has see The Burmese Pythons of Florida | Odeboyz’s Blog (oedeboyz.com)