Four Local Meadows Designated as Nature Reserves
Newly protected sites are next to the River Brent in Hanwell
Hay bailing in Trumpers Field. Picture: @WarrenFarmNR
Four meadows next to the River Brent in Hanwell are set to be designated as Local Nature Reserves (LNR).
Ealing Council Leader, Peter Mason has confirmed that the council are in the process of designating Blackberry Corner, Jubilee Meadow, Trumpers Field and Fox Meadow and Woodland (previously known as St Margaret’s Open Space).
LNR designation for these 4 meadows was approved by Ealing Council in 2003 but had not been progressed until now. When the Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign launched at the beginning of 2021, one of its goals was to see these meadows given the legal status planned nearly two decades ago and it had been engaged in discussions with Ealing Council to make this happen.
Once the legal agreements between Natural England and Ealing Council are finalised and signed, the LNR designation will come into force. The designation offers an extra layer of statutory legal protection, ensuring the site is managed and preserved in perpetuity as a nature reserve.
It does not however cover the whole of the Warren Farm area as it does not cover three pieces of land that campaigners would like to see incorporated into the Local Nature Reserve. There are Warren Farm itself, owned by Ealing Council and the adjacent meadows, owned by Imperial College London and the Earl of Jersey. The council has contacted both landowners to discuss their potential participation in the re-wilding project. However, the council has recently launched a consultation that seems to rule out this option for the whole site making it likely that the derelict sports facilities at the site will be renovated and returned to their former use.
In a statement to the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group, Cllr Mason said, “If the scale of re-wilding across the whole of the land can be achieved, it would constitute the largest re-wilding project in suburban London for decades. We have already committed that Blackberry Corner, Jubilee Meadow, Trumpers Field and Fox Meadow will have Local Nature Reserve status, and work to achieve this is already underway."
The Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign group, which is asking Ealing Council to designate the whole of Warren Farm and its surrounding meadows as a statutory Local Nature Reserve, responded on its website, “This is fantastic news for our Ealing meadow habitats and the wildlife that depends on them. It brings us another step closer to realising our complete Vision of creating a rewilded Wildlife Corridor and vital Nature Recovery Network.”
Katie Boyles, Trustee of the Brent River & Canal Society and Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign organiser, said, “When we look at the state of the planet today, a lot has changed in the two decades since the council first discussed making these meadows a nature reserve. The UK is now ranked as one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. One in seven of our wildlife species is at risk of extinction and more than half are in decline. Covid lockdowns have shown us the importance of having access to green spaces for both our physical and mental health. Local Nature Reserve designation will ensure this land remains accessible to the public whilst also giving many creatures and plants a chance at increasing their perilously low populations. Both these things now matter more than ever.”
Map showing the new Local Nature Reserves
Brent River & Canal Society Trustee, Phil Belman remarked, “Our discussions with Ealing Council and our Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign are ongoing and, although there are obviously big steps ahead, every positive action gets us closer to Local Nature Reserve designation for our species-rich urban meadow at Warren Farm. Today we can look forward to the traditional designation ceremony for our 4 meadows where Ealing’s Mayor formally opens the new Local Nature Reserve. The next step has to be the same designation for Warren Farm.”
The proposal to designate Warren Farm as a Local Nature Reserve was published by the Brent River & Canal Society in October 2020. The Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign was launched in January 2021 and its petition now has over 11,500 signatures.
Warren Farm 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. Local Nature Reserve status would preserve the meadows for future generations and ensure the protection of its rare and endangered species such as the Skylark, a red-listed bird facing UK extinction. The Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign is urging people to sign and share their petition and fill-in Ealing Council’s consultation to ask for the entire site to be left in its rewilded state and designated as a Local Nature Reserve.
The proposal to designate Warren Farm as a Local Nature Reserve was published by the Brent River & Canal Society in October 2020. The campaign was launched in January 2021 and its petition now has over 11,000 signatures.
You can respond to the consultation on Warren Farm online.
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May 5, 2022