Fury over huge quarry plans between Upminster and Rainham

Rainham Lodge Farm, Berwick Pond Road, has had long-term plans to build a huge quarry on its land and last Thursday (December 7) a pre-planning application was presented to Havering Council.

Opposition to the quarry has been fierce and a Facebook group run by Kevin Sugrue called 'Say No To The Quarry' has more than 2,000 members.

Mr Sugrue, Upminster resident of 40 years and No Quarry strategy director, blasted developer Brett’s proposal and called on the council to halt the development.

“It’s the blighting of residents and businesses that are in the direct immediate area,” Mr Sugrue said. “There are some people who have homes that border the site – directly across their fence is the farm where this would take place.”

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Rainham Lodge Farm - the site of the proposed quarry (Image: Google)

He was not the only one to feel this way, and since The Recorder published a story on Wednesday (December 13) announcing the UK-based sand and gravel producers proposal, scores have written in.

One such was Mark Stone, 63, a Warwick Lane resident for 40 years, who took aim at the plans and the council's response.

“Green space that everyone enjoys is going to be ruined,” Mark said. “Havering Council’s track record of monitoring these sites is appalling.”

Mark also blamed the council for failing to tackle the problems at Launders Lane in Rainham, a site responsible for significant pollution, including the burning of toxic chemicals.

Wai Golding, a Berwick Pond Road resident who lives within a mile of the site, said she was “seriously worried” about how her asthmatic son would be affected if the plans go ahead.

“My son suffers severely from asthma and I am seriously worried about how the dust may affect his health,” Wai said. “We can handle short-term disruption, but 20 years plus of noise and dust would be mentally and physically draining.”

Wai and Mark also agreed that the lanes near the proposed site were unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and the former said more than 100 daily trips would be “dangerous”.

“Ultimately the lanes are too narrow and winding,” she said. “It would be impossible for two vehicles to pass if one is an oncoming HGV.”

Mark was sceptical of Brett's presentation on December 7, which included  “significant improvements” to such routes and said the roads would instead become mud-ridden accident blackspots.

“I don’t know what improvements they could make to be honest,” he added.

Posters opposing the proposed quarry put up around Havering by the No Quarry group in 2022 (Image: No Quarry)

Ricky Izod, who lives in Gerpins Lane, said the quarry would cause “misery” for people in the area.

“This quarry will cause much misery for the locals,” Ricky said. “My family has farmed here for three generations – in this time there has been quarrying all around us for years at a time.

“The impact on the lanes is awful,” he added.

Public health was also a matter of grave concern.

Claire Webb, a cancer patient who lives opposite Hornchurch Country Park, said the natural area was one of solace for many people, vital for physical and mental wellbeing.

She said the quarry would be detrimental to people's health and quality of life.

“How much devastation this will cause in the area is unimaginable,” Claire said. “This is an already built-up area and the country park is, for many, our only solace.

"The thought of the noise disruption and threat to my peace of mind and the wonderful nature itself is intolerable and unacceptable,” she added.

A Havering Council spokesperson said there is no current planning application but acknowledged the pre-application process had begun.

“The developer presented to the strategic planning committee at this early stage to receive feedback from members, which is part of the pre-application process for proposals of this nature,” she said.

Brett did not respond to a request for comment.