Oral hearing granted to campaigners Campaigners have been given another chance to fight plans to build on Warren Farm. They've been granted an Oral Hearing to determine whether there is a need for a judicial review of Ealing Council's decision to allow QPR to build an elite training centre and academy on the open land. Ealing Council say it will provide a base for the club’s training academy as well as give local people access to high-quality community and sports facilities. Improvements will include enhanced football and cricket pitches, a new artificial turf pitch and multi-use games areas suitable for sports such as netball and tennis. There will be a new changing facilities catering for disabled users, as well as bookable community space in the new clubhouse. However, campaigners have questioned the Council’s process and decision-making around the application for the development on 61 acres of publicly-owned land, designated Metropolitan Open Land and community open space. Just under two weeks ago, the High Court rejected an application for a Judicial Review and the judge confirmed that the council acted appropriately and awarded QPR’s costs of £5,000 against Hanwell Community Forum. Undeterred, campaigners sought an oral hearing which will take place on Tuesday 24 June at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand. Carolyn Brown, Chair of Hanwell Community Forum, the group bringing the case on behalf of the Save Warren Farm Campaign, said: ''The Council intends to lease our land for 200 years, the equivalent of seven generations, at no rental income; QPR will take two thirds of the land for their own benefit, leaving the community with only a third of the land, no adult full size pitches, and insufficient smaller pitches to be able to run the major sports tournaments for schools and clubs which have been held there for the last 10+ years. “In addition to this, the Council has disregarded national, London’s and their own planning policies enabling the development of buildings far too high, intrusive and poorly designed for open green space which, in theory, is protected from commercial developments such as this. And the previously open space, accessible to all at any time, would be enclosed within an 8 foot high opaque security fence with access to even the community areas controlled by QPR. ''Probably most shockingly, the Council has valued this land, all 61 acres of it, at £1.8-2.25M – the equivalent in value to a single large house in central Ealing. Questions have to be asked as to how this has been deemed acceptable.'' Campaigners say anyone can support the campaign by contributing to the fund for legal costs, and/or by signing the petition opposing this development, by going onto the website at www.savewarrenfarm.com. http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/shared/eawarrenfarmreview003.htm
Jolly D. They are of course entirely within their rights to take the process as far as it goes, and I for one am happy that such rules exist. And I have to say the amount we paid for the 200 year lease does seem pathetically small, in the London context. Will QPR exist in 200 years? I won't, so who cares.
The place has been allowed to become a complete s**t hole that even local schools dont use anymore. Where were these campaigners over the past 10 years to help look after the land. My sisters kids school refuse to use it as its covered in dangerous debris(cans etc) and the changing rooms are almost a health risk. Finally someone offers to clean the place up and make it useasble and the old coffin dodgers want to moan....FFS.
June?! FFS! No rental income! What the fekk are these morons on? What about no running costs for the counsil for 200 years, should be worth a pound or two for all concerned.
Oral hearing is an interesting term. Most hearings are oral, otherwise there'd be nothing to hear. I suppose it means representations without any supporting documents. Or, in colloquial terms, a Moan. Just hope after they've had their Moan, council and club can move things forward...
I would assume the judge just wants to get it out of the way without having to go through a bunch of paperwork. Its highly unlikely that he will reverse a decision based on loads of reading and paperwork against some ugly fat tart stinging that her dog won't have anywhere to ****. I hope the club asks for much improved costs, both based on the delay and solicitor fees.
What democracy? A handful of NIMBYS trying to hold up a development tens of thousands of people want is not democracy.
I would suggest that is exactly democracy in action. The protesters have a right to an Oral Hearing and are exercising that right. Nothing wrong with that at all.
They have no hope. This is just an attempt to delay it a bit and piss off QPR and the council. There is nothing in law to stop what the council intend to do and therefore nothing the courts can do about it anyway. those against it must try to prove that the area (as it is now) is hugely important, well used, heart of the community, etc, etc. It is, in fact, a ****-hole and the involvement of QPR can only be of benefit to the site and the local community. Give it a few years and see how many people complain when there are football pitches that schools/teams actually want to use.
They've already tried to convince the council to not do it and failed, theyve already had a hearing and failed, they've already had an appeal and failed. They are showing exactly what is wrong with them system.
Exactly Thought this was an April Fools at first ''Probably most shockingly, the Council has valued this land, all 61 acres of it, at £1.8-2.25M – the equivalent in value to a single large house in central Ealing. Questions have to be asked as to how this has been deemed acceptable.'' Silly tart. This is green belt land so won’t be developed into property and if it was she would be appealing against that. Therefore “QPR has pledged millions of pounds into developing community sporting facilities at Warren Farm, so to suggest we get nothing from this scheme is simply untrue”. “Not only will Warren Farm have some of the best community sporting facilities in London, they will be maintained and replaced at no cost to the public purse”. Alternatively we ncould continue with the current system where a broke council could run it themselves. Leaving it decrip and barely used but with plenty of room for the socks and sandals brigade to let their dogs wander around and **** all over the place. I obviously underestimated how much of a nutter this women is. An extra 2 months and they can then piss off
what, a handful of people dictating and trying to impose their wishes onto tens of thousands of unwilling people. Democracy means everyone is treated equal, is so then they should have no chance of getting what they want.
Mate, if they are to be treated equally, then they are entitled to have thier say...can you not see that ?
They've had their say multiple times and failed, their wishes also go against the majority both in government and public. They just want to string it along so I believe the judge should now be awarding damages to the club. How would you feel if you wanted to build a perfectly legal extension and your neighbour just kept on appealing and appealing to delay it without any substance at all?
I do and one person and a handful of followers trying to impose their will onto the masses sounds a lot more like a wannabe dictatorship. The bolded emphases was mine. Full Definition of DEMOCRACY 1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections 2 : a political unit that has a democratic government 3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States <from emancipation Republicanism to New Deal Democracy — C. M. Roberts> 4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority 5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges Id say that democracy or any political system has got anything to do with this anyway.
I’m with Flyer- training ground approved by Ealing Council. Decision is endorsed at a planning committee by a group of democratically elected Councillors who have been elected specifically to make decisions such as this. Decision is appealed my a minute portion of the community. This goes through various appeals and then onto the High Court and decision is dismissed entirely. Now we are going to another appeal. I don’t see this as democracy I see this as inefficient and chaotic that atiny lunatic fringe can continue to disrupt the majority. A line needs to be drawn
