Opposition claim council considering 'worst kind of back-room deal'

Club chair Sanjeev Sharma (second from left) is the son of the local MP. Picture: Southall FC

Southall FC could return home if residents choose to back its bid to relocate to Warren Farm. The club wants to take over the abandoned sports facilities at the site for a new ground.

A survey on the future of the site has been launched by Ealing Council after the former sports centre fell into dilapidation over ten years ago. Opposition politicians have described the consultation as a sham saying that the option to convert the whole site into a Nature Reserve is not being considered.

Southall FC is currently based at the Robert Parker Stadium in Stanwell, Surrey, approximately 8 miles from Southall. The club was founded in 1871, making it one of England’s oldest football clubs. Southall FC’s interest in taking over the facilities at Warren Farm has been endorsed by Labour MP for Ealing Southall Virendra Sharma. His son Sanjeev is the owner of the club.

Posting on his Facebook page on 18 April alongside a link to the council’s consultation, Sharma wrote, “Warren Farm Sports Centre identified as possible (sic) suitable site for Southall Football Club. Ealing Council have opened a public consultation, we need outdoor sports facilities along with nature to rejuvenate Warren Farm.”

Cllr Gary Malcolm, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Ealing Council said, "Nearly 11,500 local residents have signed the Warren Farm Nature Reserve group’s petition demanding the site be designated a Nature Reserve but this option, which has overwhelming public support, is not even being considered.

"Instead it appears that the very worst kind of back-room deal may be being considered as Cllr Mason is pushing for the site to have a considerable football element. Southall FC, chaired by the son of Virendra Sharma Labour MP for Southall, are the only club to have expressed a public interest. On the basis of Companies House records it is hard to see how Southall FC could have the resources to finance such a deal without council support.

"Honest public consultations should embrace all viable options especially where there is considerable public support."

Warren Farm was used for sports pitches until the 1990s before falling out of use. In 2009 football club Queens Park Rangers considered acquiring the site for a its training facilities in a partnership with Ealing Council which would have allowed some community use.

Over the years, the lack of maintenance at Warren Farm has allowed the area to become overgrown and attract many forms of wildlife, which the council says it wants to find a way to preserve. According to campaigners hoping to make Warren Farm a nature reserve, animals including hedgehogs, skylarks, owls and toads have made the site their home. During the pandemic, Warren Farm became a popular site with locals to exercise.

The council’s survey on Warren Farm will close on 20 May, with draft plans for the site’s future due to be presented to the public later this summer.

Ealing Council, Southall FC and Virendra Sharma have been approached for comment.

Written with contributions from Lisa Haseldine - Local Democracy Reporter

April 26, 2022