POLICE are seeking the public’s help as they probe a significant act of vandalism that occurred at the Shooting Butts Hide at RSPB Rainham Marshes in Purfleet 22 April when extensive extensive damage was called The site manager at Shooting Butts hide said: “We are in contact with the police and urge anyone with any information to come forward to Essex Police Shooting Butts Hide will be closed to the public until further notice as we carry out the extensive work that will need to be done to repair the damage.” Anyone with information should quote crime reference number 42/54578/25 when contacting police Police say: “You can let us know by submitting a report on our website where you can use our online Live Chat service available Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm “Visit https://www.essex.police.uk/digital101 to find out more about our website reporting services “If you would like to make an anonymous report, you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on Twitter at @CrimestoppersUK, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111 Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Local rail operator Trenitalia c2c has today announced that urgent maintenance and repair works are being carried out to the booking hall roof at Rainham station this March and April Following a recent inspection of the main building at Rainham station repair works will be carried out to the main building roof over the next four to six weeks Given the urgent nature of the repairs and maintenance required c2c has moved quickly to appoint contractors to carry out the works and commence work onsite immediately customers are advised that access to the ticket office gateline and waiting areas may be restricted or changed at short notice Customers are also reminded to adhere to all safety instructions and any signage providing guidance at the station The passenger toilets will also be closed during the works said: “The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our number one priority and c2c would like to apologise for any inconvenience these important maintenance and repair works may cause “Please do keep an eye on our website and social media channels for further updates.” In addition to the roof repairs being carried out at Rainham planned works are also taking place to improve the provision of lighting in the main station car park During this period, which is expected to last another two weeks, the number of parking spaces available to c2c customers and the general public will be severely reduced. Customers are advised to check the c2c website for parking availability at Rainham – https://www.c2c-online.co.uk/stations/rainham-essex-station/ – and other local stations before they travel Featured Image – ‘Rainham Station’ Secondary Image – ‘c2c Managing Director Third Image – ‘c2c 720 Train’ we can recommend some fantastic attractions and deals for you to make the most of Explore things to do Save a third on weekdays when you buy our Off-Peak Return tickets online three or more days in advance tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to help an 11-year-old boy named William Knowlden was out cycling with friends when he came upon Arnolds Field and around its perimeter runs a wooden fence with two access points through which vehicles can pass Arnolds Field rises much higher than the surrounding land like a blanket thrown over a heap of cuddly toys It has been decades since animals grazed there and few people have set foot on it in recent years it is mistaken for a safe place to explore he lost control and was thrown over the handlebars he was lying in a small crater and his feet were covered in a powdery residue that resembled ash they removed his shoes and peeled back his socks the skin blistered and shiny; the other was blackened and charred “It looked like it had been eaten by maggots,” Knowlden recalled doctors informed Knowlden that he’d suffered third-degree burns in his right foot there should be an identifiable source of heat but Knowlden and his friends hadn’t seen anything like that became fearful that there might be something seriously wrong with Arnolds Field What on earth is over there?’” she told me fishers at a lake next to Arnolds Field became suspicious when the fish started mysteriously dying off she had started to have respiratory problems When her husband suffered severe respiratory collapse and died Nicola Knowlden says she wrote an email to the council (Havering council says it has no record of this email.) Nobody knows exactly what lies under Arnolds Field though there are rumours: ammunition from a nearby former airfield animal carcasses from the foot and mouth outbreak hazardous waste from the London Olympic site whatever is under Arnolds Field generates heat as the organic materials decompose Fires have been burning underneath the site for years – in 2023 a thermal imaging drone identified a patch of ground that was 176.4C – while surface-level fires have become more common and more violent the fire brigade has attended nearly 200 fires at the site everyone rolls their eyes because we know it’s Arnolds Field,” Paul McClenaghan borough commander for Havering for the London Fire Brigade spewing huge plumes of smoke that engulf the area one of the most deprived suburbs of London lies 500 metres to the north-west of Arnolds Field “There are days when I feel like someone is sitting on my chest like I can’t get a full lung full of air,” Coral Jeffery Each new fire stokes local people’s fears that they are being exposed to harmful pollution rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been rising faster in Rainham than in other parts of the capital according to an analysis conducted by an academic at University College London in 2022 which is why he’s saving up money to move away “One day it’s going to go up and they aren’t going to be able to control it,” he told me One group of volunteers, Rainham Against Pollution has approached the European court of human rights for support in pressuring Havering council to clean up the land Yet the council argues that because the land is private it is the owner’s responsibility to address the problem A second campaigning group is mounting a legal challenge to the council’s decision not to formally designate the land as “contaminated” who was elected the new MP for Dagenham and Rainham in July 2024 has vowed to stop the fires once and for all “Launders Lane has been a public health threat to Rainham residents for too many years,” she told me In spring 2024, I met the members of Rainham Against Pollution As we drank beers in a run-down pub near the train station and the season’s fires were only just beginning “There is no regard whatsoever for a single person who lives in this area,” Mark James “It’s like living with a volcano,” said Sue Ospreay who is a supporter but not a member of Rainham Against Pollution fears what the smoke from the constant fires might be doing to her grandchildren’s lungs but I am thinking about our children and their children,” she said For a long time Arnolds Field was nothing more than an unloved patch of unused land gravel pits had been dug there and in subsequent years and there was rubbish scattered across the surface For a time the land was used for grazing cows but eventually it was deemed unsuitable for livestock and was more or less abandoned It wasn’t until 1998 that the trouble really began a company called North London Developments bought Arnolds Field and successfully applied to Havering council for permission to turn it into a legal dump The plan was to deposit hundreds of thousands more tonnes of inert waste after which the company would level it off and replenish the topsoils The height and the shape of the land would remain the same but the quality of the soil would improve dozens of tipper lorries were hurtling through Rainham every day Unlike the lorries that would regularly collect gravel from local pits and transport it to construction sites these ones were not emblazoned with a company name Their trailers had high metal sides so you couldn’t see what was inside “Some of them made you heave as they drove past,” Jim Catlin the lorries would empty their load on Arnolds Field and giant earthmovers and bulldozers would bury it remembers being woken on many occasions by the screeching of brakes and the muffled sounds of pistons his window sills would be covered in black dust Rumours spread that the dumping was connected to a transnational crime syndicate “There was no way I was going to approach the lorry drivers to ask what was inside,” Catlin told me cancer rates are far higher than in the rest of the country so much waste had been dumped on Arnolds Field that it was unrecognisable A giant sloped embankment had been built up along one side These are common around gravel extraction sites because they prevent noise and dust from escaping but locals feared it was meant to conceal whatever was going on inside they could glimpse new mounds of rubbish and soil rising high into the sky They were increasingly worried that the waste was hazardous and would pollute the local waterways They demanded that Havering council stop the lorries from coming and remove any illegal waste they’d already dumped Jeffrey Tucker was elected as a local councillor for Rainham and Wennington ward in May 2002 he started receiving calls about Arnolds Field the landowner and director of North London Developments Reilly greeted him politely and offered him a tour of the site with litter strewn everywhere and rubble poking up through the ground and asked whether Tucker had a favourite charity to which he could offer a donation The former secretary says she told Tucker not to accept the offer Tucker wandered out holding an envelope containing a cheque for £3,000 something that allegedly happened in 2003 involving a former ward councillor and who was not in the administration at the time.”) Tucker told me that it did not occur to him that Reilly might want something in return for the cheque He had visited Reilly to get “some sort of compensation” believing it was “the “least he could do as a newly elected councillor” He continued to pass on the residents’ complaints to the council (Reilly did not respond to requests for comment.) Havering council’s planning committee met to discuss complaints about Arnolds Field Three months later it issued an enforcement notice to North London Developments requiring it to stop importing and spreading any further waste materials upheld the notices and required that all unauthorised material be removed from the site within 12 months he transferred ownership of the land to himself personally Havering council told me that it sought legal advice about whether to prosecute Reilly for failing to comply with the enforcement notice The illegal dumping seems to have continued for the next six years residents were growing increasingly concerned about the strange activities that seemed to be going on at Arnolds Field an officer at the Metropolitan police received a call from a man who claimed to be on Arnolds Field He was a security guard and he said that a group of armed men had arrived to conduct a robbery The call dropped and when it reconnected the man informed the officer that the robbers had gone and he no longer needed assistance the police conducted aerial surveillance of the area a group of officers arrived to do a ground search In one corner of the site they found an illegal dump When they inspected the other side of Arnolds Field they found something more surprising there was an array of generators and mobile cabins There was also tens of thousands of pounds in cash and That final discovery started to make sense when housed in interconnected shipping containers Through a maze of underground passages they discovered two more cannabis laboratories with about 1,000 cannabis plants The police arrested 10 individuals on-site Reilly pleaded guilty and received six years in prison for the production of a controlled drug and a further six for the possession of prohibited firearms (The other men who had been arrested were acquitted; they insisted they thought they were working at a legal landfill site rather than a drug factory.) At the beginning of 2012, after complaints from Rainham residents, the Environment Agency commissioned an engineering company to assess Arnolds Field for contamination They found landfill waste – including mattresses and pieces of furniture – at each one but there were elevated levels of lead and benzo(a)pyrene in the soil – a sign that something toxic might have been buried elsewhere on site believes that in some places the waste reaches 12 metres – about four storeys – below the ground well out of reach of the 2012 survey.) The engineering company noted that the land was so warm that it melted the winter snow Havering council or the Environment Agency (EA) might have conducted further investigations and proposed a plan to address any possible contamination of the land A spokesperson for Havering council told me that the council never received a copy of the engineering company’s report an investigation into illegal dumping on Arnolds Field would be led by the EA A spokesperson for the EA said it has no record of ever commissioning an engineering company to investigate the site and that ultimately Havering council is the lead authority on regulating the site (These responses – each organisation claiming to be unaware of basic facts regarding the site while also disavowing responsibility – are characteristic of the saga of Arnolds Field and reveal why local people are so furious about the situation.) Even after Reilly’s operation had been shut down fly-tippers continued to carry out illegal dumping on Arnolds Field the EA appointed a dozen officers to dress in camouflage and hide in bushes with binoculars in the roads leading to the site They caught three men using a forklift truck to remove the giant concrete blocks that the agency had placed at the entrance to stop vehicles going into the field having dumped about 20 tonnes of household and commercial waste on Arnolds Field Reilly – who was still in prison – put Arnolds Field up for auction a wealthy town a short drive away from Rainham with a friendly smile and a powerful voice O’Donovan owns a company that rents out construction equipment O’Donovan was aware of the chequered history of Arnolds Field but he told me he had assumed that the site had been cleaned up following Reilly’s arrest He was looking for a big parcel of land where he could build warehouses to store his inventory; Arnolds Field seemed ideal He instructed his solicitor to commission the standard conveyancing searches from Havering council and these made no mention of contamination He assumed the land had simply been excavated and filled with clean earth in the years after Reilly’s arrest “You either buy it or you don’t buy it at auction you don’t get time to go digging holes,” O’Donovan told me specify that the land was designated greenbelt meaning it is protected from most forms of development This would prevent O’Donovan from building warehouses unless he could convince the council to make an exception O’Donovan says he missed this crucial point he told me: “It’s looking like it could be a costly mistake.” the fires on Arnolds Field have intensified one particularly fierce blaze required 70 firefighters from seven fire stations to extinguish it “You are in this sweltering bunker and you can’t see or breathe.” Residents suffer nausea a teacher who has lived in Rainham since 2009 Smoke and fumes fill the corridors at his school Sometimes it is necessary to close the A1306 a busy road that runs alongside Arnolds Field and connects east London to the M25 because it is hard for drivers to see through the thick smoke roughly a kilometre from the edge of Arnolds Field often has to rush the children inside and close all the windows and doors This now happens at least six times a summer Firefighters attend a fire at Arnolds Field Photograph: London Fire BrigadeFirefighters can offer only limited help “You’ll be walking across what you think is solid ground and whoosh there’s no knowing what dangerous items may be lurking underground a gas canister exploded and flew through the air McClenaghan now forbids firefighters from entering the site it’s a case of: how could I sit in front of their families and say I put their loved one at risk to that level over a pile of rubbish?” he said His firefighters spray water on to the fires from the roadside or from extended ladders placed around the perimeter of the field Vast areas of the site remain out of reach (The local fire brigade does not have direct access to aerial firefighting equipment Many local people believe the fires would have been stopped a long time ago if they were happening elsewhere in the borough Havering is home to some of the most expensive neighbourhoods in England “We pay our council rates but the council doesn’t listen to anyone in Rainham,” says Norman Kalar Since moving to Rainham to be closer to her family Half of the 30 or so Rainham residents I spoke with told me they had developed an unshakeable cough Six of them suffer from one or more respiratory conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease whose 12-year-old son has an extremely rare type of kidney cancer Zain has lived within a mile of Arnolds Field his entire life and his parents believe that environmental pollutants from Arnolds Field may have played a role in his illness Zain had recently finished a round of chemotherapy and was playing video games It was a baking hot day but the windows were closed Zain wasn’t allowed outside because Arnolds Field was alight and he is extremely sensitive to the smoke “My eyes start to become itchy and I constantly rub them and it’s hard to not rub them because I’ve obviously got no eyelashes so it doesn’t filter it out,” he said Gary and Karina worry constantly about Zain’s two younger sisters getting ill too In the bath and when they’re tucking them into bed The family house is up for sale but nobody wants to buy it many families in Rainham are trying to sell their homes “would people want to move to the area if there’s all this news about a toxic smoke that’s killing them?” a fire that began in a back garden tore through 17 houses in Wennington Arnolds Field seemed like an even more disastrous accident waiting to happen Mark James, the teacher, had recently started a Facebook group for local people to vent their frustrations. After the Wennington fire, he arranged a crisis meeting at a nearby social club. “The residents of Rainham have been far too tolerant for far too long,” James said to a crowd of about 200 angry attendees When the group met with the chief executive of Havering council was the one who was responsible for stopping the fires O’Donovan was reluctant to meet with Rainham Against Pollution But social media was rife with vitriol towards him There were unfounded suggestions that he and his family were criminals with connections to Reilly There were rumours that he wasn’t cooperating with Havering council to stop the fires Some local people had allegedly threatened him Two of the diggers on his yard in Upminster were set on fire and O’Donovan suspects angry residents were to blame He handed them paperwork containing his plans for Arnolds Field He wanted to convert a small part of the land into a depot for his vehicles and machinery He would also remove all of the waste that had been buried he would plant hundreds of trees and bushes O’Donovan believed this work would take a decade and cost up to £20m which he would fund through loans and investors investors would take shares in O’Donovan’s companies and be rewarded with dividends O’Donovan needed to persuade Havering council to make an exception and permit him to build on greenbelt land whereby the council advises on a proposal before the developer submits a formal application Havering council was being puzzlingly unresponsive he handed around a timeline that detailed dozens of emails and letters sent to the council’s planning department to which the council had either not replied or replied very slowly Havering council had suggested a pre-application fee that was more than five times the original price quoted a few months earlier (A spokesperson for Havering council told me that the higher fee was for an additional service.) while some members of Rainham Against Pollution were still furious at O’Donovan all were convinced that the council bore far more of the blame as the council failed to stop Reilly from illegally burying waste in the first place the fires were their responsibility – and they were essentially ignoring the problem “How many times do you keep asking questions that they don’t answer?” So much of the inaction and local fury about the fires on Arnolds Field revolves around a single If the land were formally registered as “contaminated” the council would be legally required to ensure it was cleaned up (If the current landowner or the entity responsible for contaminating the land could not do it and then try to recoup the costs afterwards.) But – maddeningly in the view of campaigning groups – for a private site to be designated as “contaminated” it is not enough to merely show evidence of contamination You must also have evidence that the contaminants are seeping out of the site and harming the public or the environment And proving causation in cases like this is not straightforward It was not until 2022 that the council finally began seriously investigating these questions One part of these ongoing studies involved measuring the levels of PM2.5 a type of air pollution that causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases the levels of these particles in the air are as bad as anything in London a scientist at Imperial College London who monitors the data But when you average these levels out over 24 hours which is the time period for which the WHO provides daily recommended thresholds they rarely – only during the most tenacious fires – exceed those limits say that repeated exposure to shorter spikes is dangerous.) Yet the results of the council’s investigation into PM2.5 levels are at odds with another study wellbeing and sustainable buildings at UCL Over nine days in November and December 2022 when the Arnolds Field surface vegetation was not burning Cooper reported that the average levels of PM2.5 in a street bordering the field did exceed the maximum 24-hour exposure recommended by the WHO Havering council has also tested for ground contaminants an engineering company dug a series of trenches to a maximum depth of 5 metres and found dangerous concentrations of arsenic The council commissioned a review of the prevalence of certain types of cancer brain and haematological cancers (ie leukaemia) were no higher in residents living close to Arnolds Field than in Havering and England more generally (The council has also commissioned a study to measure the levels of dangerous pollutants such as lead and mercury in the air as fierce fires once again raged on Arnolds Field Havering council made an announcement that horrified It would not be formally designating Arnolds Field as “contaminated” land on the grounds that it is “not open to the public” and there was “currently no evidence to suggest that the fires significantly spread contaminants to neighbouring properties” the council continues to advise residents to “remain indoors and close windows” during fires.) When he heard about the council’s announcement He considered quitting Rainham Against Pollution altogether But then he thought about his grandchildren “I’ll be damned if they’re going to beat us,” he said when I met with Rainham Against Pollution a second time Arnolds Field was ablaze again and morale was at an all-time low The group was arranging a protest outside the town hall and discussing the possibility of withholding council tax in the hope of prompting action Some of them had bought air-quality monitors to conduct their own investigations The members were hesitant to speak on the record Several had recently received anonymous sympathy cards through the post and they interpreted these letters as a threat though they did not know who the sender could be One of the more promising avenues for residents is the work of another local environmental group, Clear the Air in Havering which has asked a court to review the council’s decision not to designate Arnolds Field as contaminated land A hearing is scheduled at the Royal Court of Justice in London for March 2025 says that it is financially inconceivable for the council to take responsibility for cleaning up the land The council recently secured £88m in government support we are talking about saving £300,000 by closing some of our libraries,” he told me that would be built on a vast expanse of greenbelt land in Havering It was one of the first sunny days of 2025 The air felt cleaner than the previous times I visited Read moreThe series was a much-needed shot of inspiration for Newton he is the only member of Rainham Against Pollution left standing James and Jeffery have taken a back seat because of health and personal issues Newton often sits up until the early morning is feeling that so much of the damage is already done his wishes were granted and someone were to start clearing up the land tomorrow it would likely take another 10 years before the work is complete Listen to our podcasts here and sign up to the long read weekly email here Councillors and the Mayor celebrated the opening of two new public realm amenities last Thursday which will much improve the use and enjoyment of the Rainham Riverside at Ferry Lane is designed for the local community to enjoy the views over the river Thames and the Museum of Garden Escapes provides a welcoming environment and place of interest for all visitors or cycling/walking the RSPB Rainham Marshes route between Rainham and Purfleet These new amenities have been designed by the London Riverside BID to meet local demand from the area’s workforce for usable outdoor spaces They take their design influence from the rich history of the area a spot for Victorian pleasure-seekers and eventually the industry we know today.  The Museum of Garden Escapes is located on the historic footprint of the Three Crowns Inn site that dates back to the middle of the 20th century.  the Ferry Inn stood here from as early as 1556 and was the landing point for the first ferry across the Thames from Rainham dating back to 1199 AD and which was used by the Monks of Lesnes Abbey in Erith to transport pilgrims to and from Canterbury Cathedral.  working in partnership with the London Riverside Business Improvement District secured the funds from the Greater London Authority (GLA) as part of the Rainham Strategic Industrial Location Good Growth Fund these funds were complemented by Community Infrastructure Levy that has delivered a number of complementary public realm initiatives around the Rainham Riverside area Eric Mollison Chairman of the LRBID stated: “These public realm improvements are a welcome asset to the Rainham employment zone the businesses and the 1000-striong workforce that operate from here.  "We’ve worked hard over several years to secure the funding and commitment needed to make this happen and this demonstrates what can be achieved by working in partnership with the Council and stakeholders such as the GLA.” Managing Director of the local business MJF Records quoted: “We’re delighted to see these two new spaces which will provide our staff and visitors with somewhere to sit during lunch and tea breaks.  shops or public transport and I know these facilities will be very well used and appreciated.” Deputy Mayor for Planning and Regeneration “I welcome the opening of the Museum of Garden Escapes and the Belvedere delivered as part of the Rainham SIL project in Havering "The Mayor’s Good Growth funding has been a catalyst for a wider programme of public realm improvements that address the needs of local businesses and their workforce at the same time as protecting and enhancing the green spaces and biodiversity in London’s industrial areas Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development “Significant work has taken place to improve this part of the BID area along Ferry Lane which is remote from shops residences and transport and will enhance the environment for all of the people that work in the area or visit it “We are committed to supporting local communities and this is a further example of how we can access external funding and work together to achieve our goals to improve our borough as well as demonstrating how we can make these areas more attractive and safer places to live Designed and Powered by Jadu Officers carried out a major search of the Willow Farm Car Boot Sale on Sunday News | London Around £50,000 worth of stolen tools have been recovered during a Metropolitan Police operation at a car boot sale in Rainham Officers carried out a major search of the Willow Farm Car Boot Sale on Sunday, April 6, amid growing concerns from tradespeople about a surge in tool thefts. The operation was led by the Met in collaboration with Essex Police and trading standards officers Using intelligence and with the help of a specialist sniffer dog trained to detect items marked with forensic water officers identified and seized approximately 1,000 suspected stolen tools aged between 40 and 60 and from Hackney and Southend-on-Sea were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods from Essex Police’s Grays Neighbourhood Policing Team added: “Trading stolen or counterfeit goods is illegal and inexcusable so we are working with our partners to disrupt supply lines and arrest those who are profiting from crime “Hard-working tradespeople rely on their tools to make a living and we appreciate how devastating the implications of a theft can be for victims and their families at a time when many people are struggling financially “Purchasing illegitimate goods only serves to line the pockets of the criminals creates a market that inevitably leads to more offending and can land the buyer in serious trouble.” Police say efforts will now be made to identify the seized tools and trace them back to their rightful owners Officers are encouraging all tradespeople to mark their tools and keep a record of serial numbers to help recover stolen items The Met will be holding a free tool marking event using SelectaDNA forensic water at the Toolstation in Ramac Way Moment knifeman storms into restaurant chasing victim before filming brutal stabbing Two boys charged over murder of ‘promising’ west London teenager How Guerrilla.Co is tackling road-runoff pollution in the UK Officers are also urging members of the public to avoid buying goods they suspect may be stolen or counterfeit warning that doing so fuels organised crime and is a criminal offence Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints Stacey Solomon 'regrets doing reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Stacey Solomon 'regrets reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason UCL Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Dagenham East hosted the inaugural Dagenham and Rainham Youth Conference bringing together secondary schools and colleges from across the constituency Organised in collaboration with local MP Margaret Mullane the event aimed to empower young people to share their views on the issues they face and to envision the future they want for their area flexible facility designed to explore how people interact with their environment The laboratory offers an extensively customisable space that can simulate different lighting and physical features—allowing researchers to create real-scale experiences and study how our brains and senses respond to the world around us Its ability to create realistic settings makes it a perfect space to quite literally shape the future of our area providing an ideal setting for a conference focused on community engagement and practical problem-solving Director of the UCL Centre for Transport Studies and Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering began the day by welcoming students to the laboratory describing the innovative work happening in their borough with local people—through both research and community projects—before leading a demonstration of PEARL’s capabilities with light and sound This immersive introduction set the tone for the event could use creativity and research to improve their community Guest speakers at the Youth Conference included Claire Hough—an entrepreneurial dancer who has performed at the Brit Awards—Olympic and now professional boxer Billy ‘Boom Boom’ Adams the community-focused initiative Elevate Her and the campaigning organisation Hope Not Hate Each speaker shared personal stories and messages designed to encourage students to think boldly about their future career and life opportunities delegates took part in interactive workshops to discuss three core questions: Participants frequently raised concerns about both online and physical safety together with the need for more diverse and skilled job opportunities Students also expressed a wide range of ambitions—from engineering and medicine to the arts—demonstrating a genuine commitment to personal growth and community improvement Margaret Mullane MP concluded that the responses will be fed into the ‘Deliver You’ National Youth Strategy currently being consulted on by the Department for Culture Representatives from UCL PEARL closed the conference by thanking students for their enthusiasm and engagement The resounding success of this inaugural Youth Conference highlights the lab’s potential as a hub for innovation and dialogue—and paves the way for the next generation’s ideas to shape the future of Dagenham and Rainham’s urban environment.