Ahead of our peaceful protest, Ealing Council are warned of significant reputational risk if Warren Farm development goes ahead
On 14th February we wrote a letter to all 70 Ealing Councillors highlighting the importance Warren Farm has for wildlife in the borough and how they could expose themselves to significant reputational risk if the plan to develop part of Warren Farm Nature Reserve were to go ahead. The proposal to develop a sports facility on our meadow, which has had 14 years to rewild and is home to vulnerable species, runs counter to policies at national, London-wide and local level:
The proposed development would disregard the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 (EIP), which states that public authorities must “make sure developments leave habitats in a better state for wildlife than before”
It will not be possible for the development to achieve the “mandatory biodiversity net gain” of 10 percent being imposed by the government from November 2023
The proposals would also fall short of the GLA’s objectives as laid out in the London Plan and the London Environment Strategy, which also call for Biodiversity Net Gain and require new developments to include new wildlife habitats
The area scheduled for development contains plants and animals on the Mayor’s Priority Species list. These will not survive the loss of suitable habitat at Warren Farm
The proposal also breaches Ealing Council’s own Climate and Emergency Strategy and Biodiversity Action Plan, which call for an increase in grassland habitat and states that any future development on Warren Farm must take the site’s red-listed Skylarks into account
Ealing Council’s draft Local Plan, published on 30th November 2022, red-flags the inevitable reduction of green space and the loss of priority habitat should the sports facility go ahead
Our letter also points out that public and expert opinion is firmly against the dewilding proposal. Since Ealing Council published its plans on the 17th January, another 5,000 people have signed our petition asking for Local Nature Reserve status for the entire site, taking the total currently to 18,500 and growing.
A number of high-profile experts, wildlife organisations and charities have also criticised the decision and are supporting our Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign, including: wildlife writer and conservationist Kabir Kaul; wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham; President of The Wildlife Trusts Liz Bonnin; London RSPB chief Andrew Peel; London Wildlife Trust Policy Director Matthew Frith; President of the RSPB and Vice President of the Wildlife Trusts Dr Amir Khan; zoologist conservationist and wildlife TV presenter Megan McCubbin; TV and Radio presenter naturalist and ornithologist Iolo Williams; TV presenter and founder of Ealing Wildlife Group Dr Sean McCormack; and Director of Rewilding Britain Alastair Driver among many others.
Some of these supporters feature on a video produced by Ealing Wildlife Group (see below), asking Ealing Council to reconsider its destructive decision. It is well worth a watch and it is fair to say we are being continually blown away by the huge amount of support being shown to our campaign and wildlife under threat.
"It is utterly astonishing that the Council has chosen to ignore the views of environment experts and the majority of residents, and drive endangered Skylarks extinct in the borough. Above all, young people won't be able to discover, appreciate and embrace this green space and its wildlife any longer.
In an ecological crisis, Warren Farm Nature Reserve is instrumental in ensuring that local young people are exposed to the natural world, improving their mental health and wellbeing and facilitating a shift in attitudes towards urban nature.
The Council have identified seven sites in Ealing which are more suitable for sports pitch development. There is still the time, and the opportunity, for the Council to do the right thing: to rewild, not dewild Warren Farm."
Conservationist and wildlife writer Kabir Kaul
"London is in the midst of an extinction crisis, the city has already lost at least 180 plant species and many more are becoming rarer by the day. Warren Farm is an important refuge for declining plant species, particularly Copse Bindweed a plant that is nationally vulnerable to extinction and is critically endangered in London."
Forensic botanist Dr Mark A Spencer
“When the world is calling for rewilding, Ealing Council is dewilding. When national and London-wide policy is calling for Biodiversity Net Gain, Ealing Council is going for Biodiversity Net Loss. The council runs the risk of falling foul of these policies and of making itself look environmentally negligent and out-of-touch. Do they really want a reputation as ‘the dewildingcapital of London?’ I’m sure that’s not what our councillors want and it’s most definitely not what our 18,500 petition supporters want either. Warren Farm Nature Reserve is a hugely important site for wildlife, please listen to the experts, it must be safeguarded in its entirety.”
Katie Boyles, Brent River & Canal Society (BRCS)Trustee and Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign organiser
Given the weight of opinion and the fundamental policy challenges we are strongly urging Ealing councillors to use the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 21st February as an opportunity to think again and to cancel or delay the decision to develop Warren Farm. We will be bringing expert witnesses to the meeting to challenge the council’s case and please be assured, just like our Skylarks, we continue to grow in numbers and sing as loud as it takes to be heard. Together, let’s make it happen! Thank you!
• Come join our family-friendly protest at Ealing Town Hall on Tuesday February 21st at 5.30pm. More details here.
• Please sign and share the petition
• Write to your local councillors urging them not to support the dewilding plan. Enter your postcode here and it will bring up a list of your councillors with links to their email addresses.
