The developer behind a controversial project on a derelict Toxteth street has acquired dozens of properties from the council in recent years, many at little or no cost.
Liverpool-based West Tree Estates Ltd were granted planning permission for the redevelopment of Ducie Street in August 2019, a move which at the time sparked objections from local residents, councillors and community groups.
Several local residents told the ECHO they feared the project, including a mix of 80 one- and two-bedroom apartments, was unsuitable for the area and could jeopardise the community-led revival of Granby, which has seen dozens of empty family homes brought back into use in recent years.
The planning permission for the development came two years after an agreement was made between Liverpool Council and West Tree Estates to gift the leases for the street for nil value as part of a wider portfolio in the Granby area, totalling approximately 50 properties or plots, including in Jermyn Street, Hatherley Street and Rosebery Street as well as Ducie Street, which were all also acquired at either nil or close to nil value.
The ECHO reported in November on the campaign by Liverpool artist Isabel O'Rourke to raise awareness of the development, which she says many in the local community didn't even know was happening, and who formed a group, the Toxteth Revival Campaign, in a bid to oppose it.
Liverpool council today said progress on the scheme "has been reported regularly to the local stakeholder group", which includes councillors and community representatives.
After the ECHO reported in December that West Tree had been given the leases on Ducie Street for nil value by the council in 2017 under a delegated decision by head of Regeneration Nick Kavanagh, a petition was started by local campaigner Sonia Bassey which was widely shared online, attracting over 5,000 signatures, calling on the street to be "gifted to the community" instead.
Setting up a group called L8 Matters shortly after, the formation of a new community land trust of the same name was announced last week at an online meeting and has called on the council to reconsider the Ducie Street deal.
Among concerns expressed by both groups of campaigners has been confusion around the involvement of a Liverpool-based registered social landlord, Croft Housing Association, in the scheme.
Croft Housing Association until December shared a registered address with West Tree Estates on Companies House.
West Tree Estates have now moved to a new location, at the site of a derelict former nursery they acquired and later received planning permission for and which is next to the offices for Croft Housing Association.
Two other companies with the same directors, Loma Developments Ltd and Selm Properties Ltd, remain registered at the Croft Housing Association address on Boaler Street.
There is little publicly available information about Croft Housing Association online, with a website registered to them stating it is in the process of being updated.
A listing for Croft on the city council's care and support services directory Livewell states: "Croft Housing Association provide accommodation and support to vulnerable people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and have low to medium support needs.
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"We support refugees moving on from NASS (National Asylum Support Service) accommodation, and have a smaller number of properties for service users who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and have physical or mental health issues that make them unable to live independently."
Campaigners say they are concerned a concentration of supported accommodation units at the edge of the Granby four streets area could risk the work the local community has done to create a vibrant family atmosphere in the area, which has a long history of housing woes dating back to the 1970s.
Residents say they have attempted to contact Croft Housing Association to gain more information about their role in the development, which they say was first mentioned by a representative for the developer during a meeting in the Granby Winter Garden after planning permission had been deferred to allow for increased consultation with local residents, but have said they have been unable to gain a response.
In December, a spokesperson for the council, replying to questions from the ECHO about how the scheme came about, said that they "received an interest from West Tree Estates who proposed to bring the property back into use as part of a partnership with Croft Housing Association Ltd (a registered provider of social housing)" after a previous deal, involving another company, Steinbeck Studios, fell through.
Requests to the council for clarification about this statement, in particular when the council became aware of the involvement of Croft Housing Association, have gone unanswered.
Residents reported to the ECHO that links with the housing association were brought to their attention during a meeting at the Granby Winter Garden, a community centre in Granby where representatives of the developer's architect, Falconer Chester Hall, met with some community stakeholders and spoke of the involvement of Croft Housing Association.
The planning permission for Ducie Street, which was granted in 2019, makes no mention of Croft Housing Association, with the application stating that the units would be for "market rent."
The ECHO have attempted previously on multiple occasions to gain clarification from Croft Housing Association about their links to West Tree Estates over the development on Ducie Street.
While previous attempts had been unsuccessful, last week housing manager Gerard Wood issued a statement to the ECHO which said: "Nor myself or my colleagues are aware of any campaigners that have tried to contact us, whether it be over any proposals to current sites we operate or proposed future sites that we may be interested in.
"To be clear, Croft Housing Association have no links to West Tree Estates other than that they are one of a number of landlords who provide Croft with property to let.
"We assess property that West Tree have available and any future projects that they have in the works, to see if it is suitable for our service's needs.
"Just as we do with a number of other landlords and property developers, both locally and nationally."
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Following a meeting last week with the developer Kenneth Guy, who is a director of West Tree Estates Ltd, local councillor Tomas Logan and Cabinet Member for Housing Barry Kushner to discuss West Tree's projects in Granby, Cllr. Kushner told the ECHO he had been informed by the developer there was no formal agreement with Croft Housing Association over the street and it is unclear how many units they would manage.
West Tree Estates have not responded to multiple requests by the ECHO for comment.
The two companies have been named as working in partnership together on other projects which have gone through the planning process.
One project is for a development on the derelict site of a former nursery in Boaler Street in L6, the current registered address of West Tree Estates Ltd.
In planning documents it was stated the project would involve housing refugees with low level support needs in conjunction with Croft Housing Association as part of a mixed use development which would also see commercial units and office space on the ground floor.
Planning permission for the project was granted in 2018 and a legal agreement was signed in 2019, although work is still yet to commence on site.
A further scheme at West Derby Road received planning permission in 2019 to develop a site which currently houses a car park, opposite Abdullah Quilliam mosque.
Planning documents show the scheme was aimed at housing 112 older residents as part of a sheltered housing project in conjunction with Croft Housing Association which would also include a cinema room and sky terrace.
Objections were raised by two local councillors about the scheme as well as 44 separate objections from local residents, with concerns raised including the proposed height of the buildings, the scheme's suitability for the site and its proximity and overlook of a nearby housing estate.
The head of adult services also expressed concerns about the scheme, stating: "Head of Adult Services Is not entirely convinced that some of what is outlined below would be usual in a sheltered housing setting" adding "what worries me specifically is whether this is really in the spirit of the sort of sheltered accommodation we would want to see going forward."
The objection further stated: "I do have concerns that this land is not being used in the best way to support our identified gaps in supply.
"This could be a missed opportunity to identify other more appropriate potential uses for the site."
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Despite the objections, the scheme was given approval, although no legal agreement was signed and work has not commenced on site.
West Tree Estates have not responded to requests for comment about this project, although Croft Housing Association told the ECHO: "With regards to this site, it is our understanding that Liverpool City Council withdrew the sale of the land at West Derby Rd." and added: "I am not aware of the comments attributed to the head of adult services."
West Tree Estates have also acquired properties on Smithdown Road from Liverpool Council in recent years, gaining the freehold to six units that were previously earmarked as part of the council's flagship "Shops for a £1" project. The ECHO have approached the council for clarification about how West Tree acquired these properties, and Cabinet Member for Housing Barry Kushner told the ECHO he is "looking into it."
Local resident Ed Gommon, who is a member of the Toxteth Revival Campaign, has called for an investigation into how West Tree have become "one of the biggest landlords in Granby" without, he claims, many in the community becoming aware of the plans, while confusion remains as to who will live in the units once completed.
He told the ECHO he has submitted his research and concerns to the government inspector Max Caller, who is currently reviewing best practice at Liverpool Council in the light of the recent arrest of Mayor Joe Anderson and four other men as part of Merseyside police's Operation Aloft investigation. Mr Anderson denies any wrongdoing.
He told the ECHO: "What's alarming about West Tree is the fact they made very little effort to consult the community.
"They got the planning permission in August 2019 and none of us are any the wiser what on earth is going on, who these people are, what they're planning to do - there's questions to be asked.
"I live here and don't know what's going on. The publicly available documents do not clarify anything and our questions go unanswered. Lots of people here have concerns about what has happened."
A similar view was expressed by L8 Matters CLT representative Sonia Bassey, who told the ECHO: "The transparency of deals done with West Tree Estates in Liverpool 8 is questionable and there is a clear issue regarding the secrecy of the disposal as it wasn't done in the public eye.
"This in itself should be enough to prevent the deal being valid. The value of the properties as defined by methodology used by the local authority is questionable.
"Liverpool 8 is prime real estate and L8 Matters CLT and Toxteth Revival Campaign group believe this requires a full investigation and that no work should start on Ducie Street in particular until this matter is resolved."
Cllr Tom Logan told the ECHO: “It is becoming increasingly clear how important it is for transparent processes and community engagement when decisions are being made about what land is used for.
"Future decisions about land use need to look at the potential social value of land, and take into account the needs of individual local communities.”
A spokesperson for Liverpool council said: "In February 2013, cabinet approved a report on the future of vacant council owned stock which gave the Director of Regeneration delegated permission to dispose of any void properties in the council’s identified regeneration areas including Granby. This delegation was reconfirmed in a report to cabinet in January 2014, specifically for Granby Street.
"Between 2015 and 2019, the council subsequently disposed under delegated authority of a total of 69 properties in Granby to local social landlords (Plus Dane and Liverpool Mutual Homes) and Granby CLT as well as a piece of land to a local housing co-operative. In each case the disposal was at nil value.
"This reflects the poor state and condition of the property; the costs to bring the property back into use and the likely value of the property upon completion. This is a standard method of valuation.
"A number of units (100+) in the area were also disposed of under the Council’s homesteading scheme – Homes for £1.
"The council had previously been in negotiation with a third party private developer over the Ducie Street sites, that have been transferred to West Tree Estates.
"That third party developer had also valued the Ducie Street sites at nil value. The council was unable to progress this proposal when the developer also indicated that they needed the council to provide an additional £0.5m of grant support to the project, as well as disposing of the property at nil value.
"Their valuation was carried out by an independent, qualified, professional valuation company.
"When West Tree Estates approached the council, the council insisted that West Tree consult on their proposals with Granby CLT – the lead community regeneration vehicle in the area.
"From those consultations emerged the existing agreement with West Tree Estates which includes withdrawing a number of properties from the original West Tree Estates proposal for future development by Granby CLT.
"Since the scheme was agreed, progress on the scheme has been reported regularly to the local stakeholder group which is the formal engagement route for managing the regeneration of the area.
"This group included local social landlords, local councillors, Granby CLT and other local community groups."
