Ealing Liberal Democrats have accused Labour-run Ealing Council of failing to confirm that all of Warren Farm will be included in the proposed Warren Farm Local Nature Reserve, a claim the council denies amid continuing debate over the final boundaries.
The row resurfaced at a full council meeting on Tuesday (16 December 2025), when the Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition, Councillor Gary Malcolm, challenged Labour to clarify its plans for Warren Farm which he alleged the council had reduced the proposed reserve by about 20%, or roughly five hectares, from an earlier figure of 25 hectares.
At the council meeting, Councillor Peter Mason, the leader of Ealing Council dismissed suggestions of a deliberate change. He said: “A typo is not a conspiracy.”
The Lib Dems challenged Ealing Labour to vote for a Lib Dem amendment at the council meeting to designate all of Warren Farm to be rewilded not just “the vast majority”.
Councillor Malcolm said: “Liberal Democrats have been listening to the Warren Farm campaigners for who all want to see the 24.8 hectare Warren Farm Nature Reserve introduced as soon as possible so the skylarks can be protected.”
He argued the timetable mattered because skylarks are ground-nesting birds whose breeding season begins in early spring. Councillor Malcolm said: “Their breeding season starts next year in March so if the reserve is not put in place by then, then I feel the skylarks are at a great risk as well as many other types of flora and fauna.”
The Liberal Democrats also criticised Labour councillors for voting against an amendment that would have committed the council to rewilding all of Warren Farm rather than what council documents describe as “the vast majority”.
Election-year politics and the scale of rewilding
Councillor Malcolm suggested the decision left open the possibility of delay. He said: “With the local elections looming it seems a crazy move for the Labour-run council to annoy the 26,000 people who signed the Warren Farm petition. People want to see all of Warren Farm should be rewilded and not just ‘the vast majority’.”
Councillor Athena Zissimos, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for environment, streets, parks and climate change, said the issue was not only about boundaries but also about shielding wildlife from disturbance. Councillor Zissimos said: “Liberal Democrats think that keeping light and noise pollution from filtering onto a more established rewilded area is vital.”
She added: “The skylarks nesting season will begin in March, and it would be a wonderful thing if as promised a designation as a Nature Reserve for the entire Warren Farm site, 24.8 hectares, not 20 or 22 hectares.”
Council denies scaling back Warren Farm plans
Ealing Council has denied that it is retreating from its earlier position. In October 2025, a council spokesperson told EALING.NEWS: “The size of the Local Nature Reserve planned for Warren Farm has not been reduced since 2021. The earlier figure was an estimate based on assumptions at that time. It wasn’t a deliberate reduction, and the council hasn’t stepped back from its original commitment.”
Campaigners say October report fuelled confusion
Campaigners said confusion had been fuelled by the wording of council reports rather than a clear shift in policy.
Katie Boyles, chair of the Brent River Park charity and organiser of the Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign, said: “Once again, we would like to thank the Leader of the Opposition for seeking clarification on this matter.”
Ms Boyles said: “A badly-worded report in October raised concerns among our supporters that the council was backtracking on its commitment to designate the entirety of Warren Farm, all 24.8 hectares, as a Local Nature Reserve.”
She added: “The report alluded to a 3 – 5 hectares reduction. This ambiguity created space for what the Council Leader called conspiracy theories and for a significant amount of online trolling.”
Ms Boyles pointed to what she described as an illustrative incident online. She said: “For example, sports pitches were recently placed on Google maps covering some of the area of the nature reserve. These have now been removed but this incident is illustrative of the heated atmosphere that has resulted from this report.”
Despite the tension, Boyles said campaigners were reassured by more recent statements from senior Labour figures. She said: “We were therefore very pleased to see the Leader and three Cabinet members re-state the council’s commitment to designating all of Warren Farm as an official Local Nature Reserve, and declarations from other councillors of their complete agreement on this issue.”
She added: “We also welcome the Labour group motion to implement the plan in the Cabinet Report of 6th March 2024, following the red boundary line equating to 24.8 hectares.”
Deadline pressures ahead of skylark nesting season
The timetable for formal designation remains a central concern. Ealing Council must submit paperwork to Natural England, which assesses applications for local nature reserves. Councillor Malcolm has argued the process often takes months and suggested delays could mean the designation is not secured before the skylark breeding season begins.
Ms Boyles said campaigners wanted to move past the dispute, but said the deadline was approaching. She said: “We hope that we can now put this unfortunate incident behind us and continue to work together with Ealing councillors and officers to get the Local Nature Reserve over the line by March next year, the target date the council set.”
She added: “Every day that passes without the designation in place is a day that puts our wildlife at unnecessary risk, especially so for our ground-nesting Skylarks. The bird breeding season starts on 1st March and it will be a massive disappointment to our supporters and stakeholders if the LNR paperwork has not been submitted by then.”
Ms Boyles said: “We are very grateful for our supporters’ care and watchful eyes on how things are progressing.”
She added: “Were things to move in a direction that harmed our beloved species-rich meadow and our wildlife was put under threat in any way, we would inform our over 26,000 petition signatories and take appropriate action. After all, a quarter of London’s Skylark population and one of London’s most ecologically valuable sites is at stake.”
