Investigations
Feeling the Heat
Ealing Council has repeatedly failed to address climate-related inequalities and air pollution in Southall.
Recording what happens to Southall — and who is responsible.
Local people. Local questions.
Digging the dirt, unearthing the truth.
As read by Ealing Council’s Press Office
Browse the reporting
Environment
35 stories
Local Democracy
The Man in the Middle
Berkeley, Southall Community Alliance, and the Labour Candidate Who Links Them
Investigations
This Is Our Home. It's a Tip.
Ealing’s fly-tipping crisis is out of control and Labour’s numbers don’t add up.
Investigations
On the Bins Again
After two articles on Ealing’s fly-tipping crisis — “Bangarang” and “Boomerang” — a commenter challenged the central argument: if fortnightly bin …
Investigations
Boomerang! Ten Years Sorting Out Fly-tipping
Fly-tipping in Ealing has doubled since the council changed waste collection to biweekly in 2016, leading to increased cleanup costs and ongoing community …
Environment
Bangarang! Pirate Pete and the Lost Bin Collections of Southall
The Lost Boys were right all along. They saw what Peter Pan couldn’t: that refusing to grow up and admit you were wrong costs everyone except those who …
Investigations
The EA Files: What Regulators Knew About Fire Risks at Southall Recycling Site
An incendiary paper trail of inspections, warnings and half-measures that makes the “unfortunate accident” claim about Southall’s recycling fire …
Local Democracy
How to Report Nuisance and Pollution in Ealing
How the convoluted, exclusionary and ineffective reporting system seems designed to fail residents who need it most.
Investigations
The Council Investigation That Found Nothing
A year-long investigation by the council into complaints about harmful practices at the Johnson Street recycling site that burned last week ultimately …
Investigations
A Fire We Were Warned About
Within hours of publishing an update on Southall’s Toxic Town scandal, the recycling site behind our home burned - an event long predicted by residents and …
Local Democracy
Southall Odours
A resident’s morning walk through Southall reveals the multiple sources of air pollution - from gasworks remediation to illegal burning to traffic fumes - …
Environment
COPD
Living with chronic lung disease in Britain’s most polluted community, where personal health battles intersect with environmental injustice and the fight …
Environment
Developers, if you Really Want to Help
A resident’s response to developers proposing a massive data centre in Southall challenges them to address the community’s real needs: thousands of trees, …
Environment
Risks to Health from Remediating Southall Gasworks
Google’s AI provides more ethical guidance than Ealing Council leaders, recommending that toxic waste remediation should stop immediately when benzene and …
Local Democracy
I am the Leader of Ealing Council
When asked how to handle toxic air pollution complaints while accepting £30,000 from the polluting developer, Google’s AI gave better ethical advice than …
Investigations
Response to Ealing's Air Quality Strategy and Action Plan
Ealing Council’s draft air quality strategy promises to protect residents from pollution while simultaneously allowing the very developments and practices …
Campaigns
Weasel Words on Air Quality Monitoring
Ealing Labour Council has shown negligence towards the health of Southall’s schoolchildren by disregarding air quality issues linked to a nearby toxic …
Investigations
Questions for Cabinet Leads
Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of air pollution from the Southall Gasworks site on local communities, highlighting issues of health …
Local Democracy
From the Southall Big Plan AGM in 2017
Elected representatives continue to neglect longstanding issues in Southall, exacerbating problems like housing and traffic while failing to address …
Campaigns
Strawberries for Pigs?
A father’s discovery that his child’s garden strawberries were poisoned by toxic air from nearby gasworks becomes a meditation on how Labour councillors …
Environment
High Traffic Neighbourhood
An hour-long school run through Southall’s traffic gridlock reveals how ‘improving access for HGVs’ creates chaos for residents, while a father’s choice of …
Local Democracy
Trigger Vote for Sharma
Why Southall MP Virendra Sharma faced a trigger ballot in 2019: years of invisibility on local issues, bizarre outbursts at constituents, and failure to …
Environment
The Gaslighting Zone
Residents express frustration over toxic air quality and question the appropriateness of partnerships related to mental health in Southall.
Campaigns
Southall under Siege: the Neighbours from Hell
For years, residents of Britain’s most diverse community were forced to breathe carcinogenic fumes from a toxic waste site while council leaders accepted …
Investigations
PHE cover-up, continued
This forensic analysis exposes a sophisticated data manipulation operation where Public Health England and Atkins systematically concealed escalating toxic …
Investigations
Naphthalene Poisoning Risk in People of African and Asian Heritage
Research indicates that people of Asian and African descent are more vulnerable to naphthalene poisoning through inhalation, contrary to claims that the …
Environment
PHE cover-up?
Benzene levels significantly exceeded safety standards in early 2019, contradicting reassurances by public health officials.
Environment
The Health and Other Impacts of Southall Waterside on Southall & Hayes Residents
Residents express significant health concerns and property damage due to the Southall Waterside redevelopment, feeling ignored by authorities and …
Environment
Pull the Other One, Julian
Julian Bell, the leader of Ealing Council, controversially downplayed air quality concerns at a former gasworks site while allegations of bribery and …
Environment
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics?
Searched project for “Berkeley Group statistical manipulation benzene levels unit conversion mg/m3 ppm legal limits Atkins” Berkeley Group and Atkins used …
Environment
Countering the Southall Waterside Narrative
Berkeley’s Southall Waterside narrative is systematically dismantled through exposure of their corporate gaslighting tactics, broken promises about …
Investigations
Berkeley's School Governors Board Member
Concerns have been raised about air pollution from the Berkeley Group’s construction affecting students’ health at Blair Peach Primary School.
Campaigns
Health Risks of Exposure to Benzene
Benzene exposure, even at low levels, poses significant health risks including cancer, neurological effects, and other serious symptoms.
Investigations
Visit to Southall Waterside (aka The Green Quarter)
Concerns are raised over the safety and environmental impact of the Southall Waterside development and its associated companies.