A building that had its exterior renovated at public expense is owned by a multi-millionaire property tycoon.
Knowsley Council gave £98,600 of public money to new Huyton tapas restaurant El Pueblo at the end of 2019 to pay for a new shopfront at its premises in Derby Road.
The ECHO can now reveal that those premises are ultimately owned by a London-based property investor believed to have more than £100 million in assets.
It is not known if the investor’s companies contributed to the renovations, which the council has said were key to securing a tenant for the Derby Road premises for the first time in several years and formed part of its plans to regenerate Huyton town centre.
But the borough’s Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Carl Cashman , has argued that property owners should be asked to contribute to renovations subsidised by the council.
He said: “I think it’s important that when you are using public funds the council are at least seen to be exploring the possibility of investment from the building’s owners.
“If some of these owners are worth millions of pounds and not putting their hand in their pocket, then that is wrong.
“I think local people will start to question the council’s approach, particularly when they see their Council Tax bill going up and millionaire shop owners not forking out anything.”
Several other shopfronts in Huyton Village have been renovated with council money, but El Pueblo’s premises is the only one not owned by Knowsley Council.
The local authority has been keen to stress that the spending is part of its investment in regenerating the town and is vital to attract new businesses to the area.
Knowsley Council did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The London-based property investor could not be reached for a comment for this story.
