We, the undersigned, ask that proposals made by Ealing council to improve a field, part of the area around Horsenden Hill, by landscaping it and introducing facilities such as exercise equipment, are rejected, that it is kept in its current natural state and named in memory of Lance Sergeant Dale McCallum of the Scots Guards, a resident of Greenford who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.

The field for which these changes are proposed has at its boundaries Greenford Road, North Greenford United football ground, Tir Chonaill Gaels clubhouse area and grounds, and the Grand Union Canal.

At present the field can be accessed by steps from Greenford Road or by a path cut through long grass from the Tir Chonaill Gaels clubhouse area. This pleasant natural meadow is one of the last remnants of farmland in Greenford close to homes. The screen of trees along Greenford Road and its location below street level affords it an unusual degree of seclusion. This calm and quiet space, with its long grass and wild flowers, is valued by local residents as it is and there are concerns that changing it into a public park will make it a place characterised by antisocial behaviour, a problem that Ealing Council and the Metropolitan Police seem unable to prevent at existing facilities of that kind around the borough.

We ask that this field is named "Dale's Field" in memory of Lance Sergeant Dale McCallum, a resident of Greenford until he joined the Irish Guards, before transferring to the Scots Guards. Doing so would ensure that the diversity of the United Kingdom's armed forces is recognised by honouring a soldier who was born in Jamaica. While Greenford's war memorial records the dead of the First World War and is also a place of remembrance for those of the Second World War there is nothing dedicated to those who have died during more recent conflicts, even though their sacrifice has made a direct contribution to the security of our lives in Greenford today.

In gratitude for this we ask that "Dale's Field" is designated by Ealing Council as a "Veteran Space", a calming, natural environment, maintained in its current state for veterans as well as the general public, with the possible contribution by volunteers from the London Borough of Ealing's veteran community as a therapeutic activity in support of those affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.