Epping Forest falls within or borders five of the local authorities whose seats were being contested in the 2026 local elections: the London councils of Waltham Forest, Newham, Redbridge, alongside Epping Forest District and Essex County in Essex.
The 2026 Local Elections in England, Scotland and Wales have come at a critical moment. Not only are the threats to the country’s nature becoming increasingly evident, but the role of biodiverse landscapes in providing social benefits like flood mitigation and health and wellbeing benefits is becoming better understood. Given all this, there is a clear-cut case for Epping Forest, a nature and heritage-rich ancient woodland, being high up the priority list for its surrounding local councils.
But what has the election meant for these surrounding councils, and Epping Forest itself?
Our #LoveEppingForest campaign
Epping Forest falls within or borders five of the local authorities whose seats were being contested: the London councils of Waltham Forest, Newham, Redbridge, alongside Epping Forest District and Essex County in Essex. These councils each have their own part to play in looking after the Forest and the communities which it supports.
In March, we launched our #LoveEppingForest Manifesto 2026 as a way of connecting with candidates and, through their signing of our nine pledges, getting them to commit to tangible action, protecting nature and wildlife, working together for the Forest with other key stakeholders and keeping the Forest safe and accessible. The nine pledges came out of our research and extensive engagement work. Attendees of our guided walks and conservation sessions, Forest visitors we’ve spoken to at public events, participants in our member and visitor surveys and our own policy volunteers all offered key insights into the issues most affecting Epping Forest and its local communities. As our blog series outlined, these pledges are all deliverable by councillors.
Over 140 candidates, across the five local authorities, signed up to these nine pledges. Of these, 40 were elected. Among those ranks we’re pleased to see some familiar faces – councillors who have been advocating for the Forest for years – and committed, newly elected candidates, some of whom we met on the campaign trail.
Essex Council and Epping Forest District
- In EFDC, only 18 seats – 1/3 of the total — were contested this year. 11 were taken by Reform from the Conservatives and the council’s only Green councillor.
- In Essex County Reform UK, with 53 of 78 council seats, now holds a majority. Of the council’s seven seats closest to the Forest, six are now held by Reform, having been taken from the Conservatives, who previously held a majority, and the Loughton Residents Association.
The shake-up in Essex, with a surge of Reform support across Epping Forest District and Essex County Council, means the councils’ approach towards Epping Forest is difficult to determine. In EFDC, with all parties falling under the threshold for overall control in the District, decisions will be made in the next few weeks about how the council proceeds. Will the Conservatives form a minority administration, or will they try to pull together a majority coalition? For now, we’re relieved to see several people who have pledged to protect the Forest elected, including current leader of the Conservative group, Chris Whitbread, who has pledged to resist speculative development on Green Belt land around the Forest.
In an historic defeat for the Essex County Conservatives, many familiar faces have departed. Those who remain include Lee Scott, the new leader of the Council’s Conservative group and someone who has pledged to protect the Forest. With highways and transport amongst the responsibilities of this authority, having support at county level is crucial for getting all road speeds reduced around and through the Forest to a maximum of 30mph, most notably Epping New Road.
The London Boroughs: Redbridge, Newham and Waltham Forest
- Redbridge Labour maintain a majority, albeit with a drop from 58 to 43 councillors. Nine Independents and five Greens have also joined the Council.
- In Newham, Labour’s Forhad Hussain was elected Mayor while they also lost 24 seats to Newham Independents 14 to the Greens.
- Waltham Forest Greens now hold a majority, with 31 seats. The remaining seats went to Labour and Conservative councillors, with Reform losing their three.
Redbridge has seen a Labour majority hold, despite growing support (and seats) for Independents and the Greens. Moreover, 25 of the councillors elected were incumbent before the election. They were amongst those who, unanimously and crucially, declared a nature emergency in January 2026, championed by our trustee and pledger, Cllr Jo Blackman. Adding to this number are four Green party pledgers, some of whom stressed the importance of the Forest in their campaign material. The number of candidates who are committed to protecting the natural world, and Epping Forest in particular, will be significant for collaboration on future work and strategies like those following the Nature Emergency Declaration, as well as the upcoming Redbridge Local Plan.
In Newham, the Green-Labour split leaves a lot to be decided. We are reassured that the newly appointed mayor Forhad Hussein has expressed interest in supporting Newham communities’ access to the Forest. Green leader Nate Higgins also pledged support for our manifesto.
In Waltham Forest, many staunch supporters of Epping Forest, like Cllrs Grace Williams and Rosalind Doré, remain in the council, alongside 12 other Labour pledgers. The incoming Green majority also campaigned on a pro-Forest ticket. with Cllrs Paul Perkins and Eva Tabbasam – recently announced co-leaders of the Council – amongst the 10 elected Green candidates who pledged. This signals cross-party agreement on the need to protect and enhance biodiversity, as well as to ensure that existing inequitable access to Epping Forest within the borough is addressed. Given Waltham Forest’s own declaration of a nature emergency, we will aim to work with the council to ensure that their upcoming strategies will attend to these end goals and protect the Forest.
EFHT’s 2026 local elections awareness campaign seeks candidates to make specific pledges to put the Forest in the heart of their decision making.
What next?
Overall, the support we’ve seen over the last two months is a positive sign that councillors recognise the importance to their localities. We will watch with interest as the new administrations continue to choose their leaders and Cabinet members.
We have reached out to all elected candidates who have pledged and will continue to reach out to those who haven’t, asking them to protect the Forest in all their decision-making and offering to meet with them to discuss key Forest issues. Alongside driving forward borough-specific climate and biodiversity initiatives, we will be encouraging them to work across local authority boundaries on issues like speed on Forest roads, work with organisations like ourselves on community engagement initiatives, and support the City of London Corporation, Conservators of the Forest, to tackle fly-tipping and improve public safety and accessibility within the Forest.
Through a committed, collaborative approach we can ensure that Epping Forest is protected now and for generation to come.