Concern Over Cricket Pitch Proposal for Warren Farm
Council report rejects provision for football but not other sports
Campaigners want the area to become a designated Nature Reserve. Picture: @WarrenFarmNR
Campaigners for a Nature Reserve at Warren Farm remain concerned for the future of the open space after the publication of a council report on sports provision in the borough.
They have welcomed the conclusion of the report that football pitches would not be the right choice for sports facilities at Warren Farm but are not happy about proposals for a cricket facility at the site.
Ealing Council’s ‘Indoor and Outdoor Sports Facility Strategy and Action Plan 2022–2031’ was published at the council’s cabinet meeting on Wednesday 13 July. It contains several proposals for sports provision across the borough.
The report does acknowledge the Nature Reserve status of the site and recommends that provision for football in the borough would be better served by upgrading facilities at existing sites, rather than building new pitches on Warren Farm.
However, the report also suggests that Warren Farm could be used for cricket and that a “compact outdoor sports facility” could be developed on the site.
Katie Boyles, Trustee of the Brent River & Canal Society and Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign organiser, said, “Our reaction to this report is mixed. It is great and encouraging to see the council’s sports strategy acknowledging the Climate Emergency and the need for a Nature Reserve at Warren Farm. The comments rejecting football, if adhered to by the council, will put our supporters’ minds at rest, especially given the recent noise about a potential football stadium and pitches being developed here which would, as we experienced during the recent local elections, be seen as politically controversial if ever given the go-ahead.
"The suggestion that Warren Farm could instead be used for cricket is as concerning. Any loss of our wildflower meadow is not compatible with our position that Warren Farm and the surrounding Brent River Park Meadows should remain a rewilded community asset. Ealing Council leader, Peter Mason has publicly stated that the ‘overwhelming majority’ of the site will be Warren Farm Nature Reserve and so we will, of course, need to examine the council’s detailed proposal and continue discussions. Today, Warren Farm is a Nature Reserve in all respects, it now just needs Ealing Council to give it official legal designation. Our 12,500 petition supporters want to see Warren Farm safeguarded with Local Nature Reserve designation in its entirety. It’s simply the right thing to do.”
Campaigners contend that there are already plenty of suitable sites for sports in the borough and just over the boundary in Hounslow which local residents can use within a three-mile radius of Warren Farm.
Brent River & Canal Society Trustee, Phil Belman remarked, “The council has still not made the case for building new sports facilities at Warren Farm. The existing and proposed sports sites nearby and in neighbouring boroughs such as Hounslow, already provide excellent facilities for local residents. BRCS urges the council to negotiate shared use of these sports grounds. As the Sports Strategy report indicates, many of them are currently under-used. Intensive sports, which may entail artificial surfaces, floodlighting and buildings are generally incompatible with the council’s own biodiversity policies for its nature conservation sites.”
Brent River & Canal Society Trustee and Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign officer, Steven Toft commented, “Ealing Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019. The UK is witnessing biodiversity loss at an alarming rate and the government will require councils to show a Biodiversity Net Gain. We do not believe these targets will be achievable if any of Warren Farm’s species-rich meadow habitat is used for sport or developed in any other way. If your objective is Biodiversity Net Gain it makes no sense to start with Biodiversity Net Loss. Local Nature
"Reserve designation for Warren Farm NR will safeguard and significantly contribute towards Biodiversity Net Gain while also allowing lots of people of all different ages, backgrounds and abilities to partake in regular, moderate exercise at no personal financial cost.”
The proposal to designate Warren Farm as a Local Nature Reserve was published by the Brent River & Canal Society in October 2020.
The society says that Warren Farm is a unique area of rewilded urban grassland making it a priority conservation habitat in the Mayor of London’s, The London Plan. Species of birds, mammals, plants, reptiles, amphibians and insects which are rare in London have been recorded thriving on the land. It believes, that Local Nature Reserve status will preserve the site for future generations’ health and enjoyment 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 to ask Ealing Council for the entire site to be left in its rewilded state and designated as a Local Nature Reserve.
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July 21, 2022