Ealing Council Leader of the Opposition, Gary Malcolm, has written an open letter to the cabinet members who approved the Warren Farm proposal. 

Many residents had opposed the proposal to turn part of Warren Farm into a Local Nature Reserve and use part for sports facilities, as Warren Farm is the only site in the borough where skylarks have been able to breed. 

Malcolm said that he was writing on behalf of the over 15,000 residents of Ealing who had signed the petition not to build a sports facility at Warren Farm and urged them to reconsider their decision. 

He said: "Following the Cabinet meeting last night, where you vote to 'repurpose' about half of the land of the current Warren Farm, a reminder that this will mean that the skylark and many other endangered species are likely to die out on Warren Farm. 

"I am writing to you to express the strong views of the over 15,000 residents who signed the petition plus the Ealing Liberal Democrats who want to see the whole of Warren Farm preserved as a nature reserve. 

"Ecological experts and specialists in this topic state that allowing sport to be played, or for buildings to be built, on Warren Farm, will cause the nesting grounds to be lost or destroyed. 

"Making comparisons to the old QPR proposals is not a valid approach as those proposals were even worse and not acceptable then. 

"The skylarks will not be able to nest when cricket or football is being played; that is clear. The council has a duty to protect endangered species. 

"The Council's own consultation on Warren Farm showed that only about 10% of the circa 1,500 respondents wanted either cricket or football on Warren Farm. 

"Also, of those who wanted a football ground included many duplicated comments from users, word for word. So, the demand is not there. 

"We will continue to fight for the skylarks and other endangered wildlife. 

"These proposals are part of the wider initiative on the Council's Local Plans to redesignate green belt and Metropolitan Open Land so that they can be built on in the future. 

"Ealing Council should listen to the 15,000 petitioners. The Liberal Democrat Group demand that you will cancel your plans that will damage Warren Farm."