Action Demanded to Tackle Horsenden Hill Fire Risk


Concern that summer fires could threaten nearby houses


Firefighters damp down Whittlers' Wood. Picture: David Harvey

Ealing’s Parks Department is being asked to urgently review its policy on fire prevention after a series of wildfires in the Horsenden Hill area.

David Harvey, Secretary of the North Greenford Residents Association(NGRA), has written to them to raise the concerns of the organisation.

He says that the summit of Horsenden Hill and the lookout point on the golf course, have been plagued for the last 2-3 years with regular summer fires.

The latest incident was on Monday 25 July when at approximately 11.20am the Fire Brigade was called to a fire at Whittlers’ Wood. Fire Engines from Northolt and Wembley attended the incident with access from Whitton Drive.

An area of Whittlers. Wood was burnt and a Fire Brigade officer said that it was very lucky that they had caught the fire early as, given the current dry conditions and wind, the fire could easily have set the “ancient woodland” on fire with the potential threat to nearby houses.


The Fire Brigade on the scene at Whittler's Wood. Picture: David Harvey

An area of Horsenden Wood was replanted in 2017 as a community project with over nine thousand trees. The project involved Ealing Council, Trees for Cities and the local community who voted to name the area “Whittlers’ Wood”.

Mr Harvey adds, “Given Global Warming and the extended period of dry weather, residents with houses backing onto the ancient woodland are now worried that a fire such as the one in the picture (below), or even worse one of the regular summit fires could easily get out of hand, destroy the ancient woodland and possibly threaten the nearby houses.”

Whittlers wood fire

The problem is not purely a natural phenomenon. Vandals have destroyed by fire two legacy benches, a wooden capital ring sign and various areas of fencing. Last year they even dragged up benches from the Ballot Box pub to use as fuel.

On behalf of the NGRA, Mr Harvey is asking the Parks Department what measures the council and rangers are taking to address a potential disaster.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.


August 4, 2022