Ongoing crisis on Kirkby housing estate has worsened after buildings condemned as ‘unsafe’
Residents Paul, Hossein Heravi, Phil, Kelly Cox and Chris Penfold-Ivany outside Beech Rise in Kirkby(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Hundreds of people on a Kirkby housing estate are being made homeless after two tower blocks were declared ‘unsafe’ by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS).
The Liverpool ECHO has seen a Knowsley Council letter sent to 160 households at Willow Rise and Beech Rise confirming they will have to permanently vacate their homes in a matter of weeks. The local authority explained MFRS has been forced to serve a prohibition notice due to the management company’s failure to complete essential repairs.
The tower blocks are located on Roughwood Drive in Kirkby and have hundreds of residents – both rented tenants and leaseholders. The buildings are owned by TR Marketing Ltd and the headlessor of both Willow Rise and Beech Rise is Rockwell (FC100) Limited.
The leaseholders elect a board who then contract a management company to take care of health and safety issues, general maintenance and service charges. Dempster Management Services Limited (DMS) took on this contract after reaching an agreement with the board, Parklands Management Company Ltd, in 2023.
At the start of May, Dempster informed all residents and leaseholders it had decided to terminate its contract with Beech Rise and Willow Rise, effective immediately. It means residents have been living without a management company.
Residents Paul, Kelly Cox, Phil, Hossein Heravi and Chris Penfold-Ivany outside Beech Rise in Kirkby with Willow Rise visible in the background(Image: Liverpool Echo)
One of these flats belongs to Arunee Leerasiri who has lived in Willow Rise for the last five years, but has found the last 12 months particularly difficult: “It’s been stressful, very stressful. We’ve been living with an increasing sense of fear with no solutions or answers to our questions.
“I am beyond devastated. I work from home, I am now about to be homeless. I love my home I spent time and money to make it nice, and now it’s being stripped away from me.
“It’s really unjust what’s happening to people.”
The letter from Knowsley Council arrived on Tuesday morning May 27 and was followed by a statement published on its website, stating: “Earlier this month, the Council and MFRS became aware that the current management company no longer intends to carry out the remedial works that are needed to the buildings.
“Lifts in both buildings were out of order, and the lack of funding would mean that they would not be repaired. In addition, the current management company would no longer be in a position to fund the waking watch from 21 May 2025.”
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) said it had worked with successive management companies to ensure fire safety obligations were being met and issued enforcement notices demanding remediation works be carried out. However, the MFRS confirmed these works had not been progressed and it has exhausted all other possibilities.
The ECHO first reported on problems at these tower blocks last year when residents came forward to complain about the conditions. One article detailed the plight of Kathleen Rosenthal, 68, who felt ‘trapped’ in her home because of the broken down lifts.
The ECHO also highlighted the plight of Joe, who said he was forced out of his Willow Rise flat due to major leaks in the block resulting in his electricity being cut off, adding at the time: “This has caused immense stress and anxiety, as I’ve lost the safety and stability of my home.”
A damp room with electricity cables and water pipes at Willow Rise pictured last year(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
More than seven months later, the ECHO returned to the tower blocks after being contacted by several residents claiming the issues we reported on last year are still ongoing. Furthermore, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service had issued enforcement notices due to ongoing fire safety issues.
The latest person forced out of his home by the electrical problems was Peter Barry-Ross, 48, who returned from holiday on March 8 to discover the power had been cut off in his flat.
He said: “I was in complete darkness. Since then, I’ve been sofa surfing and staying with friends and family because I’ve not been able to live here for the last two months.
“I contacted Dempster and they assured me they were dealing with the leaks and found the source of the issue.”
The ECHO understands Dempster identified the source of the leaks, but has been unable to contact the flats’ owners despite numerous letters and notices. To compound the problem, it’s unclear whether the management company has the legal right to force entry to the properties – even in circumstances such as these when the safety of the building is at risk.
The ECHO had been contacted by Peter and other residents after they received a letter from Dempster stating its intention to terminate the management contract with immediate effect.
The letter stated: “Regrettably, the situation has now become untenable. The scale of risk — both operational and legal — has increased to the point where we have no choice but to terminate our management services with immediate effect.”
Dempster also addressed the damage caused by the water leaks and the impact on the fire safety equipment which is now exhibiting a series of faults. As a result, Dempster said a ‘waking watch’ was introduced at a cost of £3,744.00 per day.
Broken lift at Willow Rise pictured last year(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
‘Waking watch’ involves 24/7 monitoring recommended by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) where trained personnel patrol a building to detect fire and manage evacuation.
The money Dempster were using to pay for the waking watch was coming from the accrued funds built up via the leaseholder board – funds which have now expired.
A MFRS spokesperson said: “The management company would not fund the ‘waking watch’ beyond 21 May 2025. The funding of the waking watch has been extended by Knowsley Council for a short period at their cost, despite them not owning the buildings, but this is not sustainable.
“This means the buildings will no longer be safe for residents to live in after the current waking watch ends and MFRS will have no choice but to issue a prohibition notice.
“Once the prohibition notice is served, MFRS confirmed that residents must leave immediately and will need to be rehoused.”
It means hundreds of residents are now at risk of homelessness with no certainty on where they will be living in the the next few weeks.
This is the situation facing Christopher Penfold-Ivany, 53, who lives on floor 13 of Willow Rise and is currently undergoing treatment for a serious health issue. Because of the broken down lifts, he has been forced to walk up and down 26 flights of stairs whenever he has to go out for a medical appointment.
Responding to the letter from Knowsley Council, Mr Penfold-Ivany said: “It’s awful but I’m not surprised because the buildings have gotten so bad that this was inevitable, but let’s be clear, this should never have been allowed to happen.
Resident Chris Penfold-Ivany outside Willow Rise in Kirkby(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“It is a catastrophic situation that has remained unresolved for weeks and months. Repairs have not been done and the lifts are not working and residents are left stranded – people who can’t get up and down the stairs because of health issues.
“Right now, I don’t know where I’m going to live, but before that, I don’t know how I’m going to move – how can anyone move because the lifts don’t work and there’s lots of people’s belongings here such as furniture.
“The thought of moving is very very stressful and could have a serious impact on people’s health. We’ve been plunged into uncertainty and we’re all effectively being made homeless.”
Leader of Knowsley Council, Cllr Graham Morgan said the local authority’s first duty is to protect residents and has stepped into offer support. The council are now in the process of contacting all residents to ensure they receive urgent support, which could include emergency re-housing.
Cllr Morgan added: “These residents have been let down and neglected for years by the various private sector companies involved in the ownership and management of these buildings. They have been allowed to deteriorate into a terrible condition, with false promises made about repairs that have never materialised.”
Member of Parliament for Knowsley, Anneliese Midgley said she has been contacted by concerned residents and is calling for a long-term plan to address the issues raised by the developments at Beech Rise and Willow Rise, adding: “They have been let down repeatedly by a revolving door of private management companies, while the conditions in the buildings have gone from bad to worse.
“It cannot be right that residents in 2025 are being forced out of their homes not because of their actions, but because of years of neglect by companies with legal responsibilities they have clearly failed to meet.
“We now need Government leadership — both to ensure residents are rehoused safely and to recover the public funds that have been spent stepping in where the private sector has walked away.”
The ECHO offered Dempster the opportunity to comment further on this article.