Plans for a "dangerous and detrimental" new quarry have been met with opposition from residents and an MP.
Building materials company Brett has submitted a planning application (P1251.24) for a quarry at Rainham Lodge Farm, in Berwick Pond Road, Upminster.
The proposals involve the extraction of sand and gravel from the former farmland, which would then be transported in HGV lorries to the current Rainham Quarry site, along Launders Lane, for processing.
The proposed site is around 550,000 square metres in size, according to the planning documents.
Brett's plans have been in the pipeline for more than a year, passing through the pre-application stage in December 2023.
Since then, more than 2,300 people have joined Facebook group Say No To The Quarry, which is urging residents to send in their objections to Havering Council before the deadline on October 22.
Kevin Sugrue, who runs the Facebook group and is a strategy director for campaign group No Quarry, said the plans will "throw upside down" years of environmental progress in the area.
Kevin told the Recorder: "It [Rainham Lodge Farm] is one of the few green lungs - air spaces that are actually a positive contributor to air quality - that we have left in Havering.
"This is a decision that affects the area for well over a decade - it's not something that is short term unfortunately."
Kevin, who has lived in Upminster for more than 40 years, also worries that if the plans go ahead they will set a precedent, allowing developer Brett to "creep" into other parts of Upminster and down into Rainham.
"At some point a line has to be drawn," the strategy director said.
Dagenham and Rainham MP Margaret Mullane is also concerned about the knock-on impact it will have on communities in Rainham.
The transport assessment submitted by Brett with the planning documents reveals that six HGV lorries would travel down Berwick Pond Road and Launders Lane to the Rainham Quarry site every hour - carrying 20 tonnes of sand and gravel.
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Ms Mullane said in a letter to Havering Council's planning department that, knowing the issues in the Launders Lane area already, she "cannot in good conscience allow this to go unchallenged".
Residents have been blighted by smoke billowing from fires at the former Arnolds Field landfill site.
She said: "My constituents in this area are already blighted by poor air quality and are under regular advice to keep windows and doors shut.
"A significant increase in heavy goods vehicles travelling along Berwick Pond Road between Rainham Lodge Farm and Brett Aggregates would lead to a dramatic and constant deterioration of air quality for adjacent communities in the Upminster Road North area."
It is this potential "deterioration of air quality" that has left some residents "filled with dread".
Gareth Mills, who lives with his husband in Tylers Crescent, Hornchurch, said they bought their home near Hornchurch Country Park - which borders the proposed quarry site - for the "fresh air and health benefits".
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He said: "Our health concerns [are] with the dust in the air (my husband has asthma), the noise pollution from the machinery and the impact it'll have on the beautiful country park we and all the families here love to enjoy."
Gareth added that he fears most residents will not "even know what to do to stop this happening to our homes".
Kevin called on residents to send their objections to Havering Council, quoting the application's reference number (P1251.24), if they are worried about what he dubbed the "dangerous and detrimental" quarry plans.
He said: "Today is your opportunity to make a change for the better - for yourself, your safety, your neighbours and family, and the future of people in Havering.
"If you do not send an email to planning@havering.gov.uk by October 22, you will lose the chance to actually have your voice heard to prevent another quarry here."
Brett did not respond to the Recorder's request for comment.
The Recorder has also asked Havering Council to share the number of objections sent in so far to the proposals.
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