MPs, councillors and campaigners in the London Borough of Havering have written jointly to the Prime Minister urging government support for Zane's Law, proposed legislation that would give local authorities and communities stronger powers to address contaminated land across the UK.

The campaign is named after seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died in the early hours of 8 February 2014 during catastrophic flooding along the River Thames at Chertsey in Surrey. Floodwater passing through a nearby historic landfill site carried hydrogen cyanide gas into Zane's home, where Surrey Fire and Rescue Services later detected it at high levels. Zane's father, Kye Gbangbola, was left paralysed, with a medical diagnosis of hydrogen cyanide poisoning.

Kye Gbangbola has since led a campaign for new legislation to close what he describes as gaps in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The proposed Clean Land (Human Rights) Bill would require every local authority to keep a full, regularly updated register of land that may be contaminated within its boundary, and the Environment Agency to maintain a public national register.

The legislation would also require relevant local authorities to inspect and remediate - or enforce remediation of - any registered land posing a risk to public safety or polluting controlled waters, including previously closed landfill sites. Government would be responsible for providing the necessary funding, following the "polluter pays" principle to recover costs where those responsible for pollution can be identified.

Havering's experience with Launders Lane

The push from Havering has a local dimension. The borough has spent years dealing with the consequences of illegally dumped waste at Launders Lane in Rainham, where underground fires at a former gravel pit have produced toxic smoke affecting residents since 2018. The London Fire Brigade attended the site on 160 occasions between 2022 and September 2025 to deal with fires.

Havering Council formally designated the site as contaminated land under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in October 2025, but only after a judicial review found the council had acted unlawfully in its earlier refusal to make the designation. The council has proposed a cement polymer covering for the worst-affected area as an interim solution.

Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said the meeting with Kye Gbangbola had been arranged so that local MPs could hear directly from the campaigner.

"We know first-hand in the borough the impact contaminated land has on residents, with Launders Lane affecting so many people from the smoke, which is caused by illegally dumped waste several years ago," said Morgon. "Current legislation does not make it easy for councils to take action and it has taken us a number of years and a judicial review before we were in a position to consider a solution. We have also had to find money for this, and as everyone knows, we are cash-strapped."

Margaret Mullane, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said she fully supported Zane's Law. "The health of Rainham residents has suffered too long from the underground fires at the historic landfill at Launders Lane. I will continue fighting locally and in Parliament to protect residents from the harm caused by illegal dumping of rubbish," she said.

Growing support across the UK

The Havering coalition is the latest in a growing number of endorsements for the campaign. Zane's Law has cross-party parliamentary support, is backed by the mayors of London, Liverpool and Greater Manchester, and has been endorsed by every major trade union in the UK, according to the campaign.

A parliamentary summit held at Westminster in June 2025 brought together campaigners from more than 20 affected communities across England and Wales. The event was attended by Environment Secretary Steve Reed MP, representing the Prime Minister.

The Trades Union Congress has allocated resources to draft the legislation, and Baroness Natalie Bennett has committed to introducing it as a Private Member's Bill through the House of Lords. However, no date has been set for the bill to receive a formal parliamentary hearing.

Ruth Kettle-Frisby, a local campaigner and Green Party member involved in the Havering meeting, said the legislation was needed to address what she described as an inequitable environmental health crisis, and would ensure public protection through statutory transparency at no cost to the public purse.

Kye Gbangbola said public authorities, mayors and unions were unifying to bring the proposed law to statute. "Communities need clean, healthy, sustainable environments, protecting people now, and preventing the intergenerational harm of cancers, birth defects, and blighted homes," he said. He added that remediation of contaminated land could support economic growth by releasing clean land for housing and infrastructure, citing the London 2012 Olympic site at Stratford as a precedent.

The UK Landfills Campaign, launched in February 2025 as part of the wider Zane's Law effort, now includes 20 community campaigns from across the country, from Havering and Hillingdon in London to Corby, Cambridge, Brighton and Caerphilly.