Havering says Arnold's Field fires in Rainham could run two to three more years while it prepares legal action. The £200,000 fallback and dates ahead.
Residents near Arnold’s Field in Rainham may face two to three more years of fires and smoke before the ground is covered. Havering Council says so in its own latest report to Cabinet.
The report says a legal Remediation Notice is being prepared to force those responsible to cover the worst parts of the site. Appeals and enforcement could take years. It warns that “there may be a further two to three years of fires, smoke and harm to health” before any works happen (Havering Council, Cabinet report, 12 August 2026).
Tomorrow is also the first deadline set by the full council. On 2 September councillors passed a motion demanding that Defra, the Environment Agency and other bodies acknowledge it within 28 days. That period ends on 30 September.
Arnold’s Field sits off Launders Lane, at its junction with the A1306 New Road. It is about three and a half miles south of Romford town centre.
What the council is doing now
Cabinet agreed the report on 12 August. The main points are:
- A Remediation Notice is being prepared. It would require named people to install a covering on selected parts of the site, within a set timescale.
- Who gets it is not yet decided. The council must first try to trace the landowner at the time of the illegal dumping and three people previously convicted of dumping waste there. Only if none can be found would the current landowner be served instead.
- Up to £200,000 is set aside from the council’s contingency fund. It would pay for the council to do the works itself, if the Notice is ignored even after prosecution and fines.
- The target is the 2027 fire season. The report says the aim is to stop or significantly reduce the fires before it begins.
- A progress report is due back to Cabinet in October 2026.
Failing to comply with a Remediation Notice is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, the report notes. Any of those served could also appeal, which the council says could delay things “possibly into the 2027 fire season” or beyond.
The £200,000 covers only the higher-risk “Phase 1” areas, not all 17 hectares. A September 2025 Cabinet report put a full permanent solution at between £5m and £10m, according to the August report.
How it got here
The council’s own summary sets out a long history (Havering Council, Response to fires at Arnold’s Field, Launders Lane).
- The site was used for gravel extraction and legal landfill in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Large amounts of waste were dumped and buried there illegally, mostly between 2011 and 2014.
- The land has had its current owner since 2017.
- London Fire Brigade data shows fires began at the end of 2018, according to the Cabinet report.
- The council formally determined it “contaminated land” under the Environmental Protection Act on 16 October 2025.
The council then proposed a cement polymer covering over the hotspots, paid for by the council, before the 2026 summer. In January 2026 Cabinet approved up to £300,000 for it. The contractor estimate was later revised down to £170,000, once a drone survey showed the priority areas were smaller than expected.
On 25 March the council said the landowner had refused permission for the work to go ahead (Havering Council, 25 March 2026). Because nothing was done before the 2026 season, the January funding approval has lapsed. As of mid-September, the council says, the landowner has still not submitted the planning application first promised in 2018.
Fewer fires this year, but no all-clear
There were only four recorded fires at the site in 2026 up to 15 July, the Cabinet report says. Even in quieter years such as 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, there were still 16 to 23 fires a year.
The report raises the possibility that surface waste has largely “burnt itself out”. It does not accept that as a reason to stop. Heat from buried waste and dry grass on top could still start wildfires that spread underground, it says.
The latest fire in the report, on 14 July, covered “a wider and unexpected area” of the site. The council is now checking whether it was a grass wildfire or started from the waste. That could change what the Notice asks for.
The report also notes that fire brigade figures only count fires reported by a 999 call. Low-level smouldering may go unrecorded.
The government’s position
After the May 2026 elections, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the council that Arnold’s Field would not be on the Environment Agency’s list of illegal waste sites to be cleared in 2026. Its reason was that the site has “contaminated land” status, the Cabinet report says.
The council disputes that. It says the site, at 17 hectares with around 50,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste, is larger than any site Defra chose for clearance this year. It has written to the Environment Secretary in May and August asking Defra to reconsider. No financial help has yet come from Defra, the Environment Agency, the housing ministry or City Hall, the report says.
What the full council voted for
On 2 September the full council passed a Reform UK motion on Launders Lane by 41 votes to 12. An amendment from the Havering Aligned Residents’ Associations Group, which would have removed a line praising the new administration, was defeated by 38 votes to 14 with one abstention (Havering Council, decisions of Council, 2 September 2026).
The motion (Havering Council, Motions, 2 September 2026):
- calls on Defra and the Environment Agency to give Launders Lane the same urgency and money as other serious illegal waste sites
- asks them to fund a solution so the cost does not fall on Havering residents
- supports continued lobbying of the Mayor of London
- demands that all relevant bodies acknowledge the motion within 28 days and give a substantive response within 90 days
Counted from 2 September, those deadlines are 30 September and 1 December. A council motion cannot compel a government department to reply. Neither the council’s Launders Lane page nor its news listing mentioned any reply when we checked on 29 September.
What it means for you
- Expect the site to remain a fire risk through at least next summer. The council’s own timetable aims at the 2027 season, and says works could take longer.
- If you see a fire, call 999. The council says its bulletins are not used to warn of new fires. Follow the London Fire Brigade for live updates.
- Sign up for the council’s updates. It runs a Launders Lane email bulletin and a WhatsApp channel, both linked from its Launders Lane page.
- Watch for the October Cabinet report. It should say who the Notice will be served on and when. We will report it when it is published.
The health studies, air quality reports and past bulletins are all on the council’s Launders Lane page. For other council decisions coming up, see our Havering planning news.
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