Labour-run Ealing Council has agreed in principle to press ahead with controversial plans for a 1,200-seat “pop-up” Troubadour theatre in Walpole Park.
Around 100 protesters gathered outside Perceval House ahead of tonight’s (9 September 2026) cabinet meeting, where Labour cabinet members backed the proposal.
The move allows plans for the temporary theatre to progress to public consultation.
The cabinet decision does not give the theatre planning permission. Troubadour would still need to submit a planning application before the venue could be built.
The proposal would also be referred to the Mayor of London and further council approval would be required before a lease is granted.
The move came after days of growing opposition, with Ealing Parks Foundation (EPF) calling for cabinet consideration of the proposal to be deferred.
Opposition has grown rapidly since the plans became a week ago (2 September 2026). An official petition lodged through Ealing Council’s ePetition system has attracted 1,107 signatures, while a separate Change.org petition has reached 772 signatures.
A third petition launched by Ealing Liberal Democrats has now attracted more than 1,600 signatures, according to the party.
Ealing Central and Acton Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq has also spoken out over the proposal, saying there is “no need to sacrifice scarce green space” for the project.
Dr Huq, whose constituency neighbours Ealing Southall, where Walpole Park is located, has written to Councillor Lauren Wall raising questions about the loss of public green space, biodiversity and the future of existing events in the park.
Ealing Southall Labour MP Deirdre Costigan, whose constituency includes Walpole Park, has also been approached by EALING.NEWS for comment.
Speaking to EALING.NEWS after the cabinet decision, Ealing Parks Foundation co-chairs Jane Fernley and Paul Carter said: “It was a good turnout tonight — representatives of various groups and a cross-section of residents came along to demonstrate their opposition.
“EPF are disappointed that cabinet have chosen to push on with this proposal in the face of widespread opposition.
“It is important that the discussions that follow this decision are not limited to Walpole Park; a range of more suitable alternative locations should be considered.
“We support quality green spaces and a vibrant arts and cultural economy, but not one at the expense of the other.”
A spokesperson for campaigners opposing the plans told EALING.NEWS they believed the cabinet decision had been a “foregone conclusion” and questioned whether the forthcoming consultation could result in alternative locations being considered.
The spokesperson said: “The Cabinet could have engaged stakeholders in advance. They have failed to consider the need to find a suitable site before rushing to approve this one.”
They added: “They could even have indicated that if the proposed reports and consultations suggest that it would not be the right location for the project, they will look for an alternative venue. No such reassurances were given.”
The campaigners said they would continue opposing the proposal following the cabinet decision.
The proposed theatre would operate for three years, with a further six months allowed for construction and dismantling.
A report to cabinet by Joyce Guthrie, Ealing Council’s assistant director for leisure and culture, said the proposal could bring a major new cultural attraction to Ealing, support the local economy and create more than 40 full-time equivalent jobs, while testing whether a theatre of this scale is viable in the borough.
The report said there would be no capital or revenue cost to the council.
Ealing Council has previously said residents could benefit from greater access to major live productions and ticket offers.
A council spokesperson told EALING.NEWS: “This new temporary world class cultural attraction would give local people incredible live entertainment on their doorstep at more affordable prices.”
During the meeting, Ealing Conservatives leader Councillor Julian Gallant asked what control the council would have over ticket prices.
Councillor Wall said Troubadour had indicated it would offer discount schemes for schools, young people and local residents, but added: “The detail of that will be worked up in greater detail as the process moves forward.”
Addressing concerns about the impact on Walpole Park, the spokesperson said: “The proposed pop-up theatre would occupy only part of Walpole Park, leaving the majority of it for public use.”
The council said noise from performances and audiences, lighting, security, stewarding and safety would be considered, along with protection of the park and wildlife.
The spokesperson added: “We look forward to hearing the full range of views from local residents, park users, businesses and other people who want to contribute to the consultation when it goes live.”
Dr Sean McCormack, founder and former chair of Ealing Wildlife Group, has raised concerns about the proposed location.
He said: “We strongly believe that Ealing can have both world-class culture and thriving nature. But we should not be forced to choose between them.”
Dr McCormack said several species of bat use and forage around the park, while Little Owls have bred there for many years, and warned that artificial lighting and disturbance from the venue could affect wildlife.
Introducing the proposal at the cabinet meeting, Councillor Wall, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for thriving communities, said Troubadour had approached the council looking for a temporary site in Ealing town centre to test the commercial viability of a large-scale theatre.
She said the council owned no other suitable sites in the area and added: “The opportunity or question facing the council is not a question of where else this theatre could go, but whether it potentially comes to Ealing or not.”
Councillor Wall said a venue capable of attracting 1,200 visitors eight times a week could significantly boost local hospitality businesses and Ealing Broadway and West Ealing high streets.
Opposition councillors challenged the plans during the meeting.
Councillor Gary Malcolm, leader of Ealing Liberal Democrats, questioned why Walpole councillors had not been involved earlier and asked whether the council would consider dropping the proposal in light of the opposition and petition signatures.
Speaking after the decision, Councillor Malcolm said Liberal Democrats were “shocked” that the Labour administration had decided to continue with the proposal despite the level of opposition.
He said: “The fight goes on as there are two more meetings where residents can have a positive effect and we can force Labour to change their mind.”
Councillor Clare Welsby, leader of Ealing Green Party councillors, questioned why an environmental impact assessment had not been carried out before Walpole Park was selected. She also asked why the proposal had not been raised with Ealing Parks Forum before it was made public.
Councillor Wall said ecological and arboricultural studies would be carried out as part of the planning process.
Responding to the question about Ealing Parks Forum, she said the council had deliberately not approached groups before announcing the proposal.
She said: “The Ealing Parks Forum, we deliberately haven’t gone out to any groups because we want to make it open and transparent and fair to all. So we’ve announced what our proposal is, and it’s a test, and then we will go out and consult everybody.”
The lack of earlier engagement has also been criticised by Ealing Parks Foundation, an independent charity supporting the borough’s parks and green spaces, which said it was not informed about the proposal before it was announced.
Councillor Wall also rejected suggestions that a Troubadour site plan dated April 2024 showed council discussions had begun at that time.
She said: “They did that in 2024, that’s not the point at which they handed it to the council, or that we began any of these discussions.”
Councillor Wall gave an assurance that the theatre would not remain in Walpole Park beyond the proposed lease period.
She said: “It will not be in the park after that period.”
Council leader Councillor Peter Mason said the three-year operation would test whether a large professional theatre could succeed in Ealing before an operator committed substantially more money to a permanent venue.
He 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.”
Councillor Mason said that if the Walpole Park venue attracted significant audiences, its success could encourage investment elsewhere in the borough, potentially from a theatre operator other than Troubadour.
He said: “It may well be the case that if the experiment does indeed work, and over the next three years we have serious numbers of patrons descending on a theatre, albeit temporary in Walpole Park, that somebody might even get ahead of Troubadour, because other people own land that the council doesn’t.”
But Councillor Mason insisted the experiment would not result in the temporary theatre remaining in Walpole Park beyond the proposed period.
He said: “In four years’ time, there will be no theatre on Walpole Park. That is the baseline position.”
Troubadour Theatres has been approached for comment.
 cabinet consideration of controversial plans for a three-year, 1,200-seat “pop up” Troubadour theatre in Walpole Park, following what it described as a “massive wave of opposition” to the proposal.){kind=link}