Angry Reaction as Warren Farm Proposals Approved
Labour group robustly defends 'win-win' for the borough
An aerial view of the Warren Farm site
January 26, 2023
A meeting of Ealing Council’s cabinet this Wednesday evening (25 January) has endorsed proposals to reintroduce sports facilities at Warren Farm.
The controversial scheme met with fierce resistance from local environmental campaigners which will see around half the site occupied over by pitches and changing rooms. However, the Labour group on the council have robustly defended the decision saying that the plan delivers an increased amount of rewilded space which will be protected as an officially designated Nature Reserve.
Having approved the proposal, the council will now investigate various options for the configuration of the sports facilities and look to bring in a partner to build and operate them. The council says its Sports Facility Strategy published last year shows a clear need for football and cricket pitches in the borough. It is hoped that the feasibility study for sports provision can be complete and a partner identified by this autumn at which point more detailed plans will be drawn up.
Groups hoping that the whole site could be maintained as a nature reserve had argued that the unique habitat created after the existing sports facilities fell into disuse had allowed threatened species such as the skylark to thrive. It is feared that the skylark will disappear from the borough once the development is complete. The campaign launched a petition which has been signed by over 15,000 people and remains open and has attracted support from the likes of Chris Packham.
Just before the meeting the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group sent a letter to all 70 councillors including cabinet members urging opposition to the proposal. It argued that the proposal runs counter to Ealing Council’s own Biodiversity Action Plan and Climate Emergency Strategy, would destroy the skylarks breeding ground, lacks public support and would not get the backing of Natural England. In addition, it was claimed that the council had failed to make the case for sports provision at the site.
All the cabinet members present at the meeting backed the scheme and afterwards Ealing Council Leader Councillor Peter Mason posted on Twitter, “Tonight, @EalingLabour agreed to move forward with our plans for a win-win at Warren Farm, where we’ll deliver both community sports & rewilding, to tackle the climate emergency & the huge health inequalities in our Borough.”
A statement issued earlier on behalf of the Labour Party in Ealing said, “When Ealing Labour were elected in May, we had a clear vision for Warren Farm Sports Ground. We pledged to deliver a compromise – a vision that will see the overwhelming majority of the land rewilded whilst also bringing back much-needed sports provision for the community. We pledged that we would consult with and work with local people to deliver these plans, so that the community had a loud voice when shaping negotiations.”
Council says that over half the site will become a nature reserve
It continues, “Our plans for rewilding the majority of Warren Farm are certainly ambitious, and we believe that within our ambition there is room for compromise that also delivers community sports facilities for local people. As those who visit Warren Farm will know, much of the land is dedicated to hard-standing and dilapidated concrete buildings. We believe that this land can be repurposed to bring back sports provision for local people, as we know we have an under-provision of cricket, football and other sports provision in the borough – particularly in Southall where more people suffer from ill health and early death compared to other areas of the borough.
“Before falling into disrepair, Warren Farm Sports Ground was home to 16 adult football pitches, 6 cricket pitches, 8 netball courts alongside softball, cricket nets and athletic provision. Generations of children and young people played sport at the site, which was very popular with grassroots football and cricket teams. Warren Farm has been home to sports for generations. It was originally sold to the Greater London Council in 1925 by the Countess of Jersey for the provision of sports and playing pitches, and the current dilapidated buildings were constructed in 1960 and inherited by the London Borough of Ealing in 1990.”
Negotiations are continuing with the Earl of Jersey, who owns the field on the other side of the site, to see if he will allow that land to be rewilded and opened for public access.
One of the proposed configurations for sports facilities at the site
Immediately after the vote was announced, the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group tweeted, “Councillors voted yes to the extinction of a 1/4 of London’s breeding Skylark population. Yes to the dewilding of over half of an already rewilded site. Our kids deserve better. Our campaign starts now.”
Katie Boyles, Warren Farm Nature Reserve , campaign organiser and Brent River & Canal Society trustee, said, “We are dismayed by this decision. Ealing Council have chosen to destroy our wildflower meadow habitat that has had 14 years to rewild. A site with an astonishing array of vulnerable and rare species recorded thriving on it, verified by experts. The councillors who voted this through tonight have actively contributed to the extinction of Ealing’s only Skylarks.
“We can do so much better than this. We will continue our campaign, with support from conservationists and wildlife organisations such as Kabir Kaul, Mathew Frith and The London Wildlife Trust, Liz Bonnin and Chris Packham, the RSPB, Ealing Wildlife Group, London National Park City and so many more who can see the true value of Warren Farm NR for our wildlife and community.
“Since the council published its plans a week ago, 2,000 more people have signed our petition. We now have 15,400 petition supporters. Our campaign is gathering momentum. We will continue to urge the council to give Local Nature Reserve status to the whole of Warren Farm.”
Sean McCormack of the Ealing Wildlife Group branded the vote as ‘a misleading gaslighting disgrace’ and ‘nothing to be proud of’. He had earlier criticised the claims by the council that this was the largest rewilding project in London for decades by pointing out that much of this is being achieved by the conversion of the horse paddock currently owned by Imperial College which he says will take over a decade to rewild meaning species loss in the area in the interim. He added, “It’s like chopping up ancient woodland with 500 year Oak trees and saying you’ll plant the same number of Oak saplings in their place. It’s simply not acceptable and makes no sense when we have alternatives available.”
Cllr Gary Malcolm, Leader of the Opposition, said: “Liberal Democrats have called for the whole of Warren Farm to be designated as a local Nature Reserve. We are very concerned that the options in the Council report mean that around half of Warren Farm will be lost, meaning a significant loss of biodiversity and publicly accessible open space.”
The Brent River & Canal Society and the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group say they will continue to campaign for Local Nature Reserve designation for the entire site and surrounding meadows despite the vote. They are urging their supporters to use the Local Plan consultation process to oppose the development of a sports facility on Warren Farm. Residents have until 8 February to make comments on the Local Plan. You can respond by email at localplan@ealing.gov.uk.
The Warren Farm Nature Reserve petition also remains open. .
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