DEMONSTRATORS were out in force as Ealing councillors voted last night (21) for a sports centre on part of the wildlife haven at Warren Farm in Southall.

Protesters want to halt the development on a site that has been largely untouched for more than a decade.

Some were turned away due to a lack of space in the public area of the council chamber.

The council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which has a Labour majority, supported a cabinet decision to develop Warren Farm in Windmill Lane, despite the opposition. 

Liberal Democrat leader Gary Malcolm had called the meeting after a decision in January to develop half of Warren Farm for sports use. 

The decision was upheld, with only two councillors voting against, though there was unanimous support for a habitat survey to be conducted. 

A petition of 19,000 signatures opposes the plan.

Cllr Malcolm said: “Green space has been shown to be essential to ensuring improved mental health, especially in urban areas.  The people of Ealing are speaking but they are not being heard.”

His Lib-Dem colleague, Cllr Athena Zissimos, added:  “Once this site has been lost the skylarks, bats, owls and endangered plants will disappear. A whole eco-system will disappear.”

It is possible the plans will now meet a legal challenge before any work begins on the site.