Campaigners Welcome Renewed Warren Farm Commitment
'Unfortunate incident' caused confusion over size of nature reserve
Warren Farm is highly valued as a local open space
December 22, 2025
The row over the future size of the proposed Warren Farm Nature Reserve has reginited, after ambiguity in an earlier council report prompted opposition accusations that the authority was “fiddling the figures”. The council has firmly denied any reduction in the planned reserve, and campaigners say they are now reassured that the full site remains protected.
At a full council meeting on 16 December, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition Gary Malcolm challenged the Labour administration to “come clean” about its rewilding plans. He argued that wording in an October performance report appeared to reduce the size of the proposed Local Nature Reserve (LNR) by between three and five hectares — around 20% of the site — and accused the council of attempting to downplay the change as a “typo”.
Cllr Malcolm said any reduction would significantly affect Warren Farm’s endangered skylark population by shrinking the buffer zone between wildlife habitat and future sports facilities. He and Cllr Athena Zissimos, the Lib Dem spokesperson for the environment, urged the council to commit to rewilding the entire 24.8-hectare site and backed an amendment to that effect, which Labour councillors voted down.
The Liberal Democrats also raised concerns about timing. With skylark nesting season beginning on 1 March, they argued that the council risks missing its own target for submitting the LNR application to Natural England, which typically takes several months to process.
The Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign, which has gathered more than 26,000 signatures, initially shared concerns about the October report. Katie Boyles, Chair of the Brent River Park charity, said the wording “alluded to a 3–5 hectare reduction” and had fuelled confusion and online speculation.
However, following statements from the Council Leader and Cabinet members, campaigners now say they are satisfied that the commitment to designate the full 24.8 hectares remains intact.
Ms Boyles said the group was “very pleased” to see senior councillors restate that the entire site — as outlined in the March 2024 Cabinet report — would be included in the LNR. She added that the charity hopes the episode can now be put behind them so that work can continue toward securing designation before the 1 March deadline.
Ealing Council has rejected claims that it has attempted to shrink the nature reserve. A spokesperson said the size of the planned LNR “has not been reduced since 2021” and that the whole site is 25 hectares, including areas such as the model aircraft runway, tennis courts and existing buildings, which were never intended to form part of the reserve.
Map from the March 2024 Cabinet Report
The council says it remains committed to submitting the LNR application to Natural England and to delivering the project as part of its wider biodiversity and climate-action strategy.
Campaigners, councillors and officers are continuing discussions as the council works toward its March 2026 target for securing LNR status.
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