Warren Farm have warned councillors that they could receive significant reputational damage if the sports facility development goes ahead. 

Steven Toft of the Warren Farm Nature Reserve and the Brent River and Canal Society wrote to all 70 councillors last week to outline the problems with the development and remind them of the large public disagreement with the plans, almost 19,000 people have signed the petition to stop it. 

The letter outlined all of the environmental issues with developing Warren Farm, such as: it disregarding the government's Environmental Improvement Plan 2023; it makes it impossible to reach the "mandatory biodiversity net gain"; the area contains animals and plants of the Mayor's Priority Species list; and because it falls foul of various local and national policies it would leave it open to challenge, costing Ealing Council substantial resources. 

Katie Boyles, Brent River & Canal Society (BRCS)Trustee and Warren Farm Nature Reserve campaign organiser said: "When the world is calling for rewilding, Ealing Council is dewilding. When national and London-wide policy is calling for Biodiversity Net Gain, Ealing Council is going for Biodiversity Net Loss.  

"The council runs the risk of falling foul of these policies and of making itself look environmentally negligent and out-of-touch. Do they really want a reputation as 'the dewilding capital of London?'  

"I'm sure that's not what our councillors want and it's most definitely not what our 18,500 petition supporters want either.  

"Warren Farm Nature Reserve is a hugely important site for wildlife, please listen to the experts, it must be safeguarded in its entirety." 

The petition to stop Ealing Council building a sports facility at Warren Farm has received 5,000 since the cabinet voted through the proposal on 17th January. 

Conservationist and wildlife writer Kabir Kaul commented: "It is utterly astonishing that the Council has chosen to ignore the views of environment experts and the majority of residents, and drive endangered Skylarks extinct in the borough.  

"Above all, young people won't be able to discover, appreciate and embrace this green space and its wildlife any longer.  

"In an ecological crisis, Warren Farm Nature Reserve is instrumental in ensuring that local young people are exposed to the natural world, improving their mental health and wellbeing and facilitating a shift in attitudes towards urban nature. 

"The Council have identified seven sites in Ealing which are more suitable for sports pitch development.  

"There is still the time, and the opportunity, for the Council to do the right thing: to re-wild, not de-wild Warren Farm."