QPR Scale Down Plans For Warren Farm
Football club revising scheme for training facility
Ambitious plans for a state-of-the-art training ground for QPR at Warren Farm in Ealing look set to be scaled down.
QPR owner, Tony Fernades, has said the ground housing the first team and academy should be ready in two years but won't be as they originally envisaged:
On the club website he said:
“What’s happened with the training ground isn’t too dissimilar to the situation with the first-team where we brought a lot of players in and it didn’t work – we got relegated,”
“We initially had big plans for a state-of-the-art training ground, but we as shareholders then thought, ‘Is this really what is needed?’
“We have looked at a number of other clubs’ facilities and seen what works well, and the end result was we scaled back on it – apart from the pitches, we want to have great pitches.''
Mr Fernades says Ealing council is supportive of the new plans which will be submitted shortly.
Local campaign group Save Warren Farm claim that 61 acres of public land worth £31.5million, was being 'gifted' to a commercial organisation for 200 years rent free. Last year they took their battle to the High Court but lost.
Mr Fernades was thought to have grown impatient with the delays caused by the legal challenge and it was rumoured that he was thinking of pulling out.
A council spokesperson said:
“QPR are currently refining the details of the proposed revisions to the current scheme and they will be submitted to the council soon.
''These will be made available for consultation at an appropriate time before and during the statutory planning application consultation.”
4th February 2015
