Warren Farm Nature Reserve and Brent River & Canal Society (BRCS) says Ealing Council leader's letter, "raises more questions" than answers.

Zack Polanski voiced concerns in his letter to Councillor Peter Mason about the proposed development at Warren Farm and the existing Green Quarter development. 

Cllr Peter Mason hit back to Polanski's issues saying the council is committed to the re-wilding of the site.

Earlier this year, the council, in collaboration with Imperial College London, reached an agreement to re-wild most of the land at Warren Farm. 

There were also reports of Warren Farm being the site for Southall FC's new stadium which Ealing Council has denied. 

The Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign was encouraged that Ealing Council's response recognised the importance of involving young people in the future of their planet.

Chairman of BRCS Phil Belman responded to Peter Mason's letter: "More species are being recorded at Warren Farm Nature Reserve every week, and the better we get to know the site, the stronger becomes the justification for delivering the BRCS Vision and designating the entire area as a Local Nature Reserve.

"It's clear from the Council's initial survey and from BRCS's ongoing work how the results of the new ecological surveys will come back. We already know about threatened birds such as Skylarks and plants like Copse Bindweed.

"How long will Ealing Council keep wasting money on consultants? It's time to recognise that 23,000 people are right, and that they won't get the go ahead to 'de-wild' half of Warren Farm by building a sports facility."

BRCS Chair Phil Belman (credit: Richard Carter).

BRCS Trustee and Warren Farm Nature Reserve Campaign Organiser Katie Boyles said: "As we approach 15 years in which Warren Farm Nature Reserve has been left to re-wild, more is continually being revealed about the immense value our neutral and acid grassland habitat brings for wildlife, boosting Biodiversity Net Gain in the borough and beyond.

"It's sadly still greenwash for the council to claim they will be 're-wilding the majority of land across both sites, Warren Farm and Imperial College'. Our land has already rewilded with incredible results. Taking over half of Warren Farm is de-wilding an already re-wilded site no matter which way you spin it.

"We very much look forward to seeing the outcome of the ecological studies and, as always, our experts are here as volunteers to assist as required. No plans for a stadium is very welcome, but as we know, plans are always subject to change so we sincerely do hope that this statement will hold.

"In the recent State of Nature Report which makes for grim reading on the UK's plummeting biodiversity, The Wildlife Trusts and Natural England have been citing the abundance of Skylarks have declined by 56%. Warren Farm holds a quarter of London's breeding Skylark population. Our wildlife and community deserves better."

BRCS Trustee and Warren Farm Nature Reserve Campaign Officer Steven Toft hopes Ealing Council will see sense: "Warren Farm is one of the most ecologically important sites in London.

"De-wilding half of it will destroy all of it. We hope that Ealing Council will declare the entire site as a Local Nature Reserve, deliver the Brent River & Canal Society vision and celebrate Warren Farm Nature Reserve as the centre point for re-wilding and environmental education for the community within the Brent River Park. As ever, we are ready to work with the council to make this happen."

In relation to the council's claims on Southall requiring sports pitches on Warren Farm, Dr. Parviz Dabir-Alai, Emeritus Professor of Economics and former Dean of Richmond Business School said: "I am afraid the issues addressed by Cllr Costigan (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action) left me somewhat bemused.

"For example, mentioning life expectancy of residents in Norwood Green and comparing that with what occurs in Northfield Ward is, at best, simplistic and at worst simply incorrect.

"It is not possible to provide a direct link between the installation of astroturf football pitches in one neighbourhood and life expectancy data there. Any such claim will need an extensive time series investigation covering a period of at least 20 years.

"Life expectancy data depend on a whole host of different key drivers, and the most significant of those will be income and the group's wider socio-economic status. I feel that these issues are being ignored and an undue degree of importance is being placed on a single driver: provision of sports facilities."

Proposals for the use of Warren Farm by Ealing Council back in July 2023 (credit: Ealing Council).

Angela Fonso, Clean Air for Southall and Hayes (CASH) and Southall resident said: "On the matter of Warren Farm, I live in Southall Green the ward that Peter Mason represents and I simply cannot envisage residents in a ward facing multiple economic and health inequalities, making regular trips to Warren Farm, to access sports facilities because the site isn't served by nearby public transport routes.

"We have Southall Recreation Ground which has boundaries by housing within walking distance, yet Ealing Council has allowed the MUGAs and cricket wicket to fall into a state of disrepair.

"As well as removing the changing rooms on what was and is an ideal site for sports."

The Brent River & Canal Society and the Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign group are asking Ealing residents to write to their cllrs asking them to protect Warren Farm Nature Reserve in its entirety with Local Nature Reserve designation.

Campaigners are also calling on people to continue to sign their petition for Local Nature Reserve status for the whole of Warren Farm Nature Reserve, which has over 23,000 signatures and growing, and support from a number of notable wildlife charities, organisations and individuals.

Supporters can sign the petition here and write to their local councillors whose email contact details can be found here.

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