Taking action: Ruth Kettle-Frisby wants to clear the air

‘The Launders Lane crisis speaks to my inmost Light.’

Two years ago, two other local mums and I set up on organisation called ‘Clear the Air In Havering’. We created it to support clean air initiatives, including School Streets and the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). Air pollution is a thorny topic where I live; legitimate concerns are frequently entangled with ideological politics, car culture, and Islamophobia. We wanted to: raise awareness about air pollution; tackle misinformation; and champion the right to clean air for everyone.

Rainham in Havering is one of the most deprived areas in Greater London. It is at the sharp end of the harmful health impacts of air pollutants, which include asthma, dementia, psychotic episodes in teenagers, stunted lung growth, and premature death. The area around the town is a dumping ground for quarries, and, for twenty years, has been plagued by a vast, illegal, rubbish dump on privately-owned land at Launders Lane.

This dump is one of the highest methane-emitting sites in the UK, and smoulders all year round with underground fires. During the summer it catches alight 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.’

Enough is enough. As a desperate last resort I have taken Havering Council to court. I want these fires put out, and justice for forgotten Rainham children. Together with a law firm, I have sent a pre-action letter to Havering Council to challenge their 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. 

This is a public health emergency, and the continued negligence is only possible because of the geographic and socio-economic marginalisation of people in Rainham. 

The Launders Lane crisis speaks to my inmost Light. My Quaker faith tells me that we all share that Light, and to leave nobody behind. This means internationally, when colonised nations continue to be harmed and traumatised by white supremacist greed, and locally, when vulnerable people suffer invisibly, including children with cancer. 

It is in the spirit of Friendship, therefore, that I am asking for your help. This legal action is taken in my name. I am not remotely well off, but this is the right thing to do for Rainham children. The campaign needs funds to protect me from adverse costs. To find out more, and donate if you can, please visit www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-the-fires-launders-lane, and share the link.

Clean air should be a right for all children. Without any culpability, they suffer the greatest harm. Cleaning up Launders Lane is how I’m putting my faith into action.

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