A public petition opposing plans for a controversial 1,200-seat temporary Troubadour theatre in Walpole Park has become the first Ealing Council e-petition to pass the 3,671-signature threshold required for a debate at full council.
The petition had been signed by 3,779 people by 7.30am on Monday morning (28 September 2026), passing the threshold less than a month after it opened on 4 September. It remains open until 4 October 2026, giving campaigners almost another week to attract further signatures.
The 3,671 threshold was introduced by Labour-run Ealing Council in July 2025, replacing the previous requirements of 1,500 signatures for a borough-wide petition and 750 for one relating to a single ward. The new figure represents 1% of Ealing’s population based on the 2021 Census.
The change attracted criticism from residents and opposition parties at the time. Ealing Council said it was intended to ensure petitions debated at full council demonstrated a broad range of public opinion across the borough.
Under the council’s petition scheme, signatures are verified when determining whether the threshold for a full council debate has been reached, with duplicate signatures and those without a valid address discounted.
If the 3,671 threshold is confirmed following verification, Ealing Council will seek to consider the petition at its next full council meeting, although the Mayor has discretion over when the debate takes place.
The petition organiser is given five minutes to present the petition, followed by a debate lasting up to 20 minutes.
The petition has gained support rapidly in recent days. When EALING.NEWS reported on the campaign last week, more than 2,300 people had signed.
Save Walpole Park campaigners have since distributed thousands of leaflets, put up posters and campaign boards and used social media to encourage more residents to sign.
Petition organiser and Save Walpole Park campaigner Nick Lane said: “The speedy success of the e-petition is testament to the strength and breadth of feeling about this ridiculous theatre proposal and the hard work of many in our campaign group.
“I am not convinced a short public meeting will achieve much in terms of changing the Council’s plan but it is an important shot across their bows to demonstrate we will not let this scheme glide through unchallenged. The Save Walpole campaigners intend to fight this development all the way.”
Reaching the petition threshold does not overturn Ealing Council’s decision earlier this month to agree in principle to plans for the temporary theatre.
Cabinet members backed the proposal on 9 September 2026, allowing plans for a lease to Troubadour Theatres to progress, subject to planning permission. A further cabinet decision would be required before the lease is granted.
The proposed Troubadour Ealing Broadway Theatre would have 1,200 seats and operate in Walpole Park for three years, with additional time 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.
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.
All three opposition party groups on Labour-run Ealing Council – the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Greens – have also been against plans for a temporary theatre in Walpole Park.
Ealing Wildlife Group has previously raised concerns about the potential impact of a development of this scale on wildlife in the park.
The 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 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 Parks Foundation, a charity established to support and enhance parks and green spaces across the borough, has also strongly opposed the proposed location.
Its co-chairs Jane Fernley and Paul Carter said: “Ealing Parks Foundation strongly objects to the proposed location of the Troubadour Theatre in Walpole Park; a much needed, high quality green space in central Ealing.”
They added: “The cabinet report fails to mention the many potential negative impacts on would-be park users, residents, the green space, trees and wildlife.”
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.
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.
The council 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.”
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.”
EALING.NEWS has approached Troubadour Theatres for comment on a number of occasions since the plans were announced but has not received a response
