Warren Farm Petition Hits 20,000 Signatures
Wildlife experts urging council to carry out habitat survey
Dr Mark Spencer protesting outside Ealing Town Hall. Picture: Richard Carter Photography
March 15, 2023
Support for keeping the whole of Warren Farm as a nature reserve is continuing to grow with the petition in favour now surpassing 20,000 signatures.
With Ealing Council having decided to press ahead with the reintroduction of sports to the site, wildlife experts are reiterating that it should carry out a habitat survey before proceeding.
This was also the recommendation made by the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) at its meeting on 21 February , after hearing evidence from ecological and wildlife experts Dr Mark A Spencer, of the London Natural History Society, and Dr Sean McCormack, founder of the Ealing Wildlife Group. They explained that the council’s proposals risked falling foul of both national and London-wide policies. It is being claimed that the proposed development on Warren Farm would not achieve the “mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain” of 10 percent being imposed by the government from November 2023. It 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 Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign has written to council leader Peter Mason asking him to carry out a Phase 1 Habitat Survey, using the London Open Spaces Survey methodology, as recommended by Dr Spencer.
Campaigners say it is crucial that this is done before Ealing Council appoints a Development Partner. The council stated in its cabinet report The Future of Warren Farm Sports Ground that it would advertise for bids from potential Development Partners this month.
It is being argued that it would be unwise to identify a development partner for Warren Farm before Ealing Council is fully aware of the habitat and biodiversity implications of developing the site.
Dr Spencer commented, “Ealing Council has a lot of work to do before it can even consider putting together a development proposal. It is essential for the council to have a record of what is present on Warren Farm Nature Reserve now, as baseline data, before it goes any further. It will need this information before it approaches Natural England. To show the mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain all developments will need after November 2023, will require more extensive surveys.
“So far, the council has been unable to show that it has this information. Determining the current state of Warren Farm’s established neutral and acid grassland habitat and the abundance of common, rare and vulnerable species it contains, is essential prior to the commencement of any development proposals. It seems somewhat premature to advertise for a Development Partner before carrying out this survey.”
The council has described the Warren Farm proposal as a win-win for the borough with the reintroduction of sports activities being combined with what it describes as ‘London’s biggest rewilding project’. Although some land that was given over to nature, and became a habitat for skylarks, will be built on, the council is aiming to allow adjacent plots of land to be rewilded as an offset.
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