More than 2,300 people have now signed an official Ealing Council petition opposing plans for a 1,200-seat temporary Troubadour theatre in Walpole Park, as campaigners step up efforts against the controversial proposal.
Campaigners are seeking to reach the 3,671 signatures required for the petition to qualify for debate at a full meeting of Ealing Council before it closes on 4 October 2026.
The Labour-run council increased the threshold required last year from 1,500 signatures to at least 1% of Ealing’s population – 3,671 people based on the 2021 Census – prompting criticism from residents and opposition parties. At the time, the council said the change was intended to ensure petitions debated at full council demonstrated a broad range of public opinion across the borough.
Save Walpole Park says a team of volunteers is now distributing thousands of leaflets, putting up posters and estate agent-style campaign boards in residents’ gardens and encouraging more people to sign the petition in an effort to trigger a full council debate. Campaign T-shirts are also starting to appear around Ealing as supporters seek to raise awareness of the plans.
The latest campaign push follows Ealing Council’s cabinet decision earlier this month to agree in principle to plans for the temporary theatre, allowing the proposal to progress to consultation and the planning process.
The proposed Troubadour Ealing Broadway Theatre would have 1,200 seats and operate in Walpole Park for three years, with an additional six months allowed for construction and dismantling.
The theatre would be funded and operated by Troubadour Theatres, which would pay Ealing Council a fixed lease fee. The council has said income from the arrangement would be invested in parks and open spaces across the borough.
Around 100 protesters gathered outside Ealing Council’s Perceval House headquarters before cabinet members backed the proposal on 9 September 2026.
The cabinet decision does not amount to planning permission. Troubadour would still need to submit a planning application, while further council approval would be required before a lease could be granted.
Opposition to the proposal has centred on the loss of public green space, its potential impact on wildlife and existing events in Walpole Park, and concerns over how the plans were brought forward.
Ealing Wildlife Group has raised concerns about the potential impact of a development of this scale on wildlife in the park.
The group said several species of bat use and forage around Walpole Park, including Noctule, Common, Soprano and Nathusius’ Pipistrelles, while Little Owls have been breeding in the park for a number of years.
Ealing Wildlife Group said: “We are extremely concerned about the potential short and long-term impacts of a development of this scale on the park’s wildlife.”
It added: “Little Owls have been breeding in the park for many years, a testament to the sensitive management of the park for biodiversity benefit.”
Ealing Parks Foundation, a charity established to support and enhance parks and green spaces across the borough, has also raised concerns about the proposed location of the theatre.
Ealing Central and Acton Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq has also questioned the plans.
She said: “There are a number of unanswered questions that would need to be addressed for such a dramatic loss of vanishingly rare public green space.”
Dr Huq has also raised questions about whether Biodiversity Net Gain requirements under the Environment Act 2021 can be met under the proposal.
Save Walpole Park campaigner Nick Lane said: “There are many different interest groups that can align around this issue because sub-letting a public park to a commercial entertainment venture is wrong on so many levels.
“The Troubadour plan has clearly been cooking for a while but was sprung on local residents with a fast tracked timetable, given construction is due to start in January 2027.
“It is simply shocking there has been no feasibility study to consider the pros and cons of this proposal. The logistics, practicalities and full implications don’t seem to have been properly thought through.”
Ealing Council has previously said the temporary theatre would allow it to establish whether there is sufficient demand to support a permanent theatre in the borough, while generating additional income for parks and bringing more visitors to local businesses.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting earlier this month, Ealing Council leader Councillor Peter Mason said: “Before any major theatre company is going to invest probably tens of millions of pounds in a purpose-built theatre in a place like Ealing, they need to understand whether it’s going to work.”
He also stressed that the proposal was temporary, saying: “In four years’ time, there will be no theatre on Walpole Park. That is the baseline position.”
The council has previously said: “This gives us the opportunity to test whether Ealing can support a theatre of this scale while protecting Walpole Park for future generations.”
It added: “Such a big, new cultural attraction could boost our local economy and job opportunities – especially for cafes, shops and restaurants in West Ealing and Ealing Broadway.”
EALING.NEWS has approached Troubadour Theatres for comment on a number of occasions since the plans were announced but has not received a response.
