Children tell Ealing Council to leave Warren Farm alone

More than 500 campaigners including children and their parents came out on Tuesday night (21 February 2023) to protest against Ealing Council’s plans to re-develop Warren Farm.

The demonstration, outside Ealing Town Hall, came following Ealing Council’s decision last month (25 January 2023) to take a large portion of the land and turn it into a sports facility. Nature and environmental experts have said it would have terrible consequences on the wildlife that lives there as well as reducing the amount of green and open space in London.

Several dozen children at the protest were chanting at the top of their lungs “save Warren Farm”.

They, like the adults campaigning, were passionate in their pleas to the council and its councillors to save the very place they love.

We spoke to some of the children, including scouts and cubs, on why Warren Farm is special to them.

Claudia, aged 9, said: “Well, I really like Warren Farm because of the animals and it’s a really nice place to walk and play.” When asked how she would feel about the farm becoming a sports facility, she said “That is really bad because all the animals will have nowhere to go.”.

Animals and wildlife were a common theme mentioned by the children about what they love and what they see. Hector, aged 8, described his favourite one there, the owl. “It’s really fluffy and cute, and if they go, I wouldn’t really like it because there’d be no nature.”.

9-year-old Otis also loves the wildlife found currently in Warren Farm. “It keeps a lot of nature. If you see an animal and it comes to you, you can have a little play about with it. And it’s good just for having fresh air and having good walks around. I’ve seen rabbits and I’ve seen squirrels.”

Stanley, aged 8, said that Warren Farm means a lot to him “It’s a wonderful place to play and have fun finding animals. I go a few days a week. It’s a very special place and should be left alone.”

These children also said their friends feel the same way. They have a lot of love for Warren Farm and it is clear that the council’s decision to take some of that land away will have consequences on the future both for young people and nature.