“Any decision on Warren Farm’s future must consider its nature conservation value”, says Mayor of London

‘Warren’ the barn owl delivers in his beak our petition of over 10,800 signatures to the Mayor of London.

We have received a reply from the Mayor of London to our 10,800 signature petition and to the formal question asked by Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon. (See previous post.) We are both pleased and disappointed. 

The good news is that the Mayor has said any decision about the future of Warren Farm must take into account the site’s distinctive value for nature conservation and that the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group should have a stake in discussions about the site’s future. 

The Mayor said: 

“The Warren Farm Nature Reserve Group clearly have a stake in discussions about the site’s future, and in the context of my London Environment Strategy and London Plan it would be right for any decisions to fully consider its nature conservation value and role in London’s wider network of important greenspaces for people and wildlife.”  

However, the Mayor stopped short of giving the campaign his full support. As you might expect, we were disappointed by this, as was GLA Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, who remarked: 

“It’s disappointing that the Mayor of London won’t give his full support to the campaign to designate Warren Farm Nature Reserve and the surrounding meadows as a Local Nature Reserve. The huge number of local campaigners supporting this campaign are a joy to work with and have a real passion and love for this important area of urban grassland which offers so much to both the local community and London as a whole. Both the Mayor of London and the local council need to listen to residents, nearly 11,000 of whom have supported this petition, and join me in getting right behind the fantastic campaign!” 

Brent River & Canal Society (BRCS) Trustee and campaign organiser Katie Boyles commented: 

“When we launched the Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign back in January, we took the decision to include the Mayor of London in the petition, should our meadow once again be facing another inappropriate, large scale development, such as that endorsed by the previous Ealing Council Leader, Julian Bell.

We are encouraged that the Mayor of London’s response confirms the importance of Warren Farm for nature conservation and for our meadow’s role in the London Environment Strategy. He acknowledges the stake that the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group (Brent River & Canal Society) have in discussions with Ealing Council to ensure Local Nature Reserve (LNR) designation is obtained and it’s extremely clear to the Mayor just how important and loved our green space is to the local community from the huge level of support being shown to us.”

The Mayor’s response in full, that we received as an answer to Caroline Pidgeon’s question

“Of course, we would have loved for the Mayor to have stated that he believes Warren Farm should be given LNR designation, which he clearly felt unable to do at this point in time, which is disappointing. However, our meadows are now very much on his radar thanks to the 10,800 supporters who signed our petition and we will be keeping him informed of our progress.

Council Leader Peter Mason has the final decision on the future of Warren Farm NR and we have had constructive discussions with him to date. We simply cannot afford to lose this vast wildflower, rewilded meadow habitat, the biodiversity loss would be catastrophic for London and the UK as a whole. We want to see Warren Farm NR set a precedent for what can be achieved to protect wildlife and human health in the borough. Watch this green space.” 

Alice Roberts, Head of Green Space Campaigns at CPRE London, who joined us to present the petition at City Hall with Warren Farm NR being one of their Ten New Parks for London campaign, said: 

“Rather than simply leaving this site with no identity, no status, at risk from development, Ealing Council must work with residents to turn it into a nature reserve so it can become a major new park for local residents, schools and others to enjoy. London has less than half the green space it needs for a population its size: sites like this should be cherished, valued and given appropriate status, so Londoners have the access to nature, green space and open skies so important to health and wellbeing.” 

Warren Farm NR campaigners present the petition at City Hall. L to R: Katie Boyles, Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, Warren the Barn Owl (with petition), Kabir Kaul, Alice Roberts. Photo by Paul Clarke Photography www.paulclarke.com

Her comments are echoed by Kabir Kaul, Conservationist and Wildlife Writer: 

“Warren Farm Nature Reserve was created this year to campaign for the much-needed protection of Warren Farm and its unique acid grassland. I am glad the Mayor London, Sadiq Khan, has recognised the ecological importance of the site, but it would have been even better if he explicitly expressed support for the designation. 

I hope that from our discussions with Ealing Council, we can achieve a future for Warren Farm, where it is not threatened by development, and its many species, some regionally rare, can flourish alongside people. I thank the 10,800 supporters, who signed our petition, for helping us reach this stage. It has certainly made us more determined to give Warren Farm’s wildlife a voice, and the status it deserves.” 

Despite this, we are still optimistic about the future of Warren Farm. The arguments for declaring our meadow as a statutory Local Nature Reserve are strong. It is a unique area of rewilded urban grassland. Species of birds, mammals, plants, reptiles, amphibians and insects which are rare in London have been recorded thriving on the land by our dedicated team of experts and amateur species recorders. 

With councils across London facing challenging biodiversity net gain targets, areas like Warren Farm have assumed a critical importance. It is highly unlikely that London will meet its climate emergency goals if these species-rich sites were to be developed. The Mayor’s comments are an acknowledgement of this reality.

Our discussions with Ealing Council have been positive and we would like to continue what has, so far, been a constructive conversation. However, the climate crisis will not wait. We would therefore like to bring this matter to a conclusion and ask that Ealing Council begin the process of statutory Local Nature Reserve designation for Warren Farm and its surrounding Brent River Park meadows as a matter of urgency.

A map showing the Brent River & Canal Society’s vision of connected meadows within Warren Farm Nature Reserve