Several homes on a crime-ridden estate in Huyton have lain empty for over a decade.
Merseyside Police is trying to crackdown on anti-social behaviour on Primrose Court following reports of serious violence.
Residents living in the area told the ECHO last month that they have been left fearing for their safety due to gangs torching houses and setting fires in the street.
The issue of crime coupled with fly-tippers targeting the area has caused many people to move out of the area all together.
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Photos show rows of two and three bedroomed homes empty and abandoned with their windows boarded up and "no fly tips" written across the front in red marker pen.
After contacting Merseyside Police this week for an update on what is being done to tackle crime in the area, the ECHO was told a day of action will be carried out at Primrose Court today, Friday 7 January.
A police spokesperson said the day of action comes following reports of serious violence in the area and aims to reassure vulnerable victims and prevent further anti-social behaviour.
Here we take a look at the work that is being carried out by Merseyside Police, Knowsley Council and the owners of the properties and why the same problems continue to plague Primrose Court years later.
"The area is ripe for investment but we're stuck with Primrose Court"
The owner of A1 Properties, Colin Bell, who manages 400 houses across the region, told the ECHO this week that the ten properties he owns on Primrose Court "create 90% of our problems."
On average, Colin said he spends around one and a half to two days a week on Primrose Court, attending to issues and clearing up rubbish that has been left there.
The problems with Primrose Court appear to have started when the development was first built by two private companies who went bust before work on site was completed.
This means key elements such as street lighting and ‘proper kerbs’ have not been installed on the road.
And because the road is unadopted, the duty to maintain it belongs to the owners of the properties.
Colin said: "All around Primrose Court there's nice properties going up and being sold immediately.
"The area is ripe for investment but we're stuck with Primrose Court simply because of the council really, I don't know how many times I've rung up asking what's happening or sent emails. They come back with the same thing 'they're hoping to get funding.'"
Four properties have been derelict for over a decade
Of the 24 properties on Primrose Court, Colin said nine of the houses which are owned by different landlords are currently empty, including four which have been derelict for over 14 years.
Colin claims that in October 2018, Knowsley Council promised street lighting would be installed and work on the road would be completed on the grounds that each property owner would pay towards the work.
He said: "It's a crazy situation. Over two years ago now we agreed for the council to do the work and we would repay the council.
"For any of the houses that we didn't repay, the council would repossess the houses and they would have charge of them. We were told the work would be completed in nine months - this was pre-covid. Up to now we're still no further on."
However, Knowsley Council has disputed these claims and said the properties on Primrose Court are all privately owned and the council never agreed to repossess them.
In December 2020, Knowsley Council told the ECHO: "Funding has been secured from the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership and will be used to tackle arson in the area through improved lighting and CCTV."
When asked for an update on this funding a year later, a council spokesperson said: "In advance of CCTV being installed, further funding is needed to regenerate the area and we are continuing to work with our partners to explore potential funding sources."
In a statement this week, a Knowsley Council spokesperson said: “Knowsley Council did not build the properties at Primrose Court and has never owned them. It is therefore not the case that we are able to “repossess” them and we have never agreed to do so.
“In fact, many of the issues at Primrose Court arise because the development was built by two separate privately owned companies – both of which went into liquidation without completing the work on site and without meeting the planning conditions for the developments.
"This meant that the usual processes for adopting the highway, installing street lighting etc could not be followed and the same problem prevents the installation of other measures such as CCTV.
"The current property owners expect the Council to use a considerable amount of public money to complete a privately owned development.
“The Council has been in regular dialogue with the homeowners and landlords of properties in Primrose Court since the initial issues arose in the area."
They continued: "A number of Council services, including Housing, Highways, Environmental Health, and Crime & Communities, have worked with homeowners and landlords to identify solutions to the issues on site, try to identify sources of funding, and agree a collaborative approach to tackling the issues that are evident.
“For example, the Council met with some of the owners to discuss co-funding highways and infrastructure improvements to bring the road up to adoptable standards.
"At that meeting, the owners who attended agreed - in principle - to co-fund this work. Unfortunately some of the other owners who did not attend refused to agree to contribute their shares, which would be required to progress the adoption of the road under a Private Streeetworks Agreement.
"The Council has established how much the work would cost should an agreement ever be reached, but these costs are only going to continue to increase as time passes due to the poor original construction of the road by the developers.
“Unfortunately, the Council is not in a position itself to fund all of the work which is required on site. Indeed, this would not be appropriate given that the Council does not own any housing and is not able to re-possess privately-owned properties.
“Despite this challenge, the Council continues to look at solutions to tackle the issues being experienced and we are bidding for additional funding to carry out work in the area.
"Only last year, we pledged an extra £1 million of funds specifically to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour across the Borough – which is a key issue here.
“The standards at Primrose Court are not acceptable and we remain committed to working with the owners on collaborative solutions to resolve the issues for all concerned.”
What action Merseyside Police is taking
Community Inspector Simon Peers said: “We are working in close partnership with Knowsley Council, Police and Crime Commissioners Office and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) in order to deal with antisocial behaviour and other criminal activity taking place in Primrose Court, Huyton.
“We have conducted a number of search warrants at addresses in recent months and have recovered a number of controlled drugs, cash and stolen property.
“The most recent warrant was conducted on Monday 13 December where drugs, stolen property and an off-road bike were seized.
“We are also having numerous partnership meetings with Knowsley Council and MFRS to find anyone responsible for fly tipping in the area.”
“In the past, we have joined forces to deliver specific ‘days of action’ where we target those involved in serious violence as well as provide a visible policing presence and will continue to do so in the new year.
“The national Neighbourhood Policing week of action starting on Monday 17 th January will see officers across the force, including from our own Community, Prevention and Targeted teams working together to showcase what they do and the benefits they bring to the public.
“By providing this active visible policing presence we aim to stop any vandalism and act on any intelligence we receive.
“If you have any information about those involved in crime in the area please contact police so we can take action, identify offenders and bring them to justice.”
"If you would like to report something to us, please DM us @MerPolCC or contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously."
