Forum Topic

How do you spell hypocrite?

Interesting to see that our beloved council is at it again with Warren Farm. After my football club QPR's plans, with the approval of the council,fell through you could be excused for thinking that it would stay as a wildlife reserve. A proposal to let Southall FC play there was exposed after their manager was unmasked as the son of a Southall councillor. Now it looks as if money (kerching to the PRE) is suggesting that sports pitches should be built on land that attracts plenty of wildlife. Thanks to the PRE, QPR looked further afield and are now nearing completion on a new training ground that the club owns.

Peter King ● 472d7 Comments

Gunnersbury Park with over 50 years of decayed facilities had many pitches for football rugby and hockey and a lot of school use.But the facility now is too expensive for small community teams. And the whole field is on an incline which was awful to play on in windy weather.Warren farm was levelled and proper drainage put in and provided a great facility for the ILEA schools as well as local weekend clubs. Not the best in facilities either but a lot better than Gunnersburys offering.It need not be lavish or a huge development, just good enough facilities to not shiver at the thought of going there.

Raymond Havelock ● 466d

Yes, there are still leagues that are active but fewer than there used to be. As you say, cost is a big factor and pitch hire is a major part of that. A lot of people prefer five a side now because it’s cheaper and easier to get a team out regularly.

Simon Hayes ● 466d

Are you sure that there has been a drop in demand for pitches? If you walk by the river in Chiswick near the University of Westminster Ground or Dukes Meadows they are nearly all being used on a Saturday. Clubs like Polytechnic FC and Old Meadonians can put out up to ten teams.Overall there has been growth in participation particular from male vets, women and girls but boys football is in decline partly due to lack of coaches and related child protection requirements. A lack of pitches and the costs must play a part as well in this decline so more availability must help. The new facilities at Gunnersbury seem to have been very heavily used since they started.

Mark Evans ● 466d

True enough. It was dreadful to play there back in the day. But then they did the same with Gunnersbury Park, where the changing rooms became so dangerous they couldn’t be used.I think the issue with sport on the site is more complicated than has been highlighted here. Bell basically gifted the site (and most of the land there) to QPR, with no guarantees for public use or access, on a hugely long lease. It wasn’t even going to have any wildlife protection. The only obligation on the football club was to provide and maintain a few pitches for local teams to use. It was a bad deal for Ealing (considering the eternal bleat about Joe cash strapped the council was), a good one for QPR.It remains to be seen what the detail of the new proposal is. Allowing Southall FC the land at low or no commercial rates is another bad deal. We have few public assets in Ealing so ought not to give them away. Plus other clubs in the region might wonder why they aren’t given the same largesse.If it’s simply a case of some football and other sports pitches occupying a relatively small area then that’s more acceptable. Although the decline of amateurs 11-a-side football means there’s less demand for council owned pitches now. That could be a problem for upkeep as the revenue stream will be small.They also need to improve public transport if they want people to go there without driving. Should Southall move in then they will be ambitious to progress up the leagues. Bigger crowds could mean more traffic and congestion.I wonder how the skylarks feel.

Simon Hayes ● 467d

No sure where the hypocrisy arises here. The council has always, under Julian Bell and Peter Mason, said that it wants to reintroduce sport to the site. The need for more pitches is not really disputed and what alternative sites are available in the borough? It seems to me the council have tried very hard to balance two competing needs and probably will not totally satisfy either side with these proposals. If you want to condemn the council then isn't the real deficiency they have shown the way in which for years they allowed it to fall into disuse and be neglected?

Gordon Southwell ● 467d

How do you spell hypocrite?Easy........ London Borough of Ealing under the administration of the Local Ealing Labour Party.  😁

Rosco White ● 472d

I believe the gentleman you are referring to is Sanjeev Sharma. He’s the chairman of Southall FC and the son of local MP Virendra Sharma (aka the invisible man to most of his constituents).Warren Farm was a bugger to get to when it was regularly used for football matches years ago. Public transport there hasn’t improved so it will see a lot of traffic if this scheme goes ahead.

Simon Hayes ● 472d