Ealing Council leader Julian Bell says campaigners who claim they are trying to save Southall Town Hall for the community are "misinformed" about what the building offers.

The Southall Community Alliance charity has set up a campaign to try to stop Ealing Council 's bid to lease the Grade II listed building to the Vishwa Hindu Kendra temple next door. The lease has been signed for 250 years, at a sum that is understood to be in the region of £2 million.

The Alliance says selling the hall to a religious group will take it away from community use and be a major loss for many groups and people who go there to use support services. The campaigners have taken their case to a Judicial Review which will be held at the Royal Courts of Justice on June 4 and 5.

However, Mr Bell says this view is "completely misinformed", adding that the hall has been in use as a business enterprise centre since 2003 and has not been used by the council as a community hub for a long time.

He would not deny that cost saving played a factor in the decision to lease the hall, but he stressed he was committed to making sure alternative facilities would be found for the groups who use it.

He highlighted the council's investment of £4 million in new community spaces, such as the nearby Dominion Centre which has a new library, community rooms and information centres.

Dozens of community members joined the protest to "Save Southall Town Hall"

Tony Hussain from care provider Home Instead, which is based at Southall Town Hall, said: "This place is a hub for the community. It signposts people towards services. People will no longer have that signpost available to them so they won't no where to go for help.

Southall Community Alliance estimates that around 10,000 people use the hall each year, although it says many have been put off due to uncertainty about its future.

Alliance chairman Harsev Bains said: "There is a big scandal going on that should be on the front of a national paper. People come here to get access to services, where are they going to do that now? Where do communities meet?

"How can you take something away that was originally given to the community to use?"

Ealing Council Leader, Julian Bell, is "committed" to finding alternative facilities to the town hall

Mr Bell countered that the temple has pledged to work with community groups and allow them access once it takes over the hall.

No action will be taken to change the current occupation of the hall until legal arguments are finalised.