Knowsley Council said it met with the head lessor of Kirkby housing estate and discussed possible solutions
Tenants of Beech Rise stood out their tower block(Image: LDRS)
After weeks of worry and stress, a ‘glimmer of hope’ has emerged for hundreds of residents currently facing eviction from a ‘condemned’ housing estate in Kirkby.
The Liverpool ECHO has produced several reports on the unfolding ‘catastrophe’ at Beech Rise and Willow Rise tower blocks after the estate’s management company terminated its contract. Last week, residents received a notice from Knowsley Council informing them the tower blocks were ‘unsafe’, after an assessment from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS).
The crisis meant that hundreds of people were facing homelessness and serious financial hardship. The situation was described by one resident as a ‘catastrophe’ and has garnered national media attention and debate within the House of Commons.
Just yesterday, the ECHO reported on Knowsley MPs parliamentary question to the Leader of the House of Commons. Ms Midgley said: “In Kirkby, 160 households in Willow Rise and Beech Rise face eviction because their tower blocks have been condemned.
“The private owners have failed to carry out essential fire safety work, and if it weren’t for Knowsley Council stepping in to temporarily fund a waking watch, residents would have already been forced out. We need urgent government support.”
The tower blocks are located on Roughwood Drive in Kirkby and have hundreds of residents – both rental tenants and leaseholders. The buildings are owned by TR Marketing Ltd and the head lessor of both Willow Rise and Beech Rise is Rockwell (FC100) Limited.
Beech Rise in Kirkby(Image: LDRS)
The leaseholders elect a board, who then contracts 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.
The local authority explained Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) has been forced to serve a prohibition notice due to the management company’s failure to complete essential repairs.
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. To ensure safety obligations are met in the run-up to the blocks being vacated, Knowsley Council stepped in and has been paying for the waking watch scheme – at a cost of almost £3,000 per day.
Knowsley Council have now issued an update which may bring some degree of hope for the many residents wanting to remain in their homes. In a statement published on its website this evening, the council stated: “The council has been supporting residents, lobbying Government on their behalf, and meeting with the various parties involved in the complex management and ownership of the buildings.
“As part of this work, the council held a positive meeting yesterday (Thursday June 5) with one of these parties – an agent for the head lessor. During this meeting they indicated that they now intend to assess whether they could deliver the necessary remedial works which would prevent the need for a waking watch and therefore avoid a prohibition notice being served.
“If this were to be possible residents would potentially be able to remain in the buildings, should they choose to.
“However, these conversations are at a very early stage and there are no guarantees about what can be delivered, or when. It should be noted that the ownership of these buildings is very complex, and the agents for the head lessor are just one of several parties involved.
“The council will continue to work with all parties involved to find a solution for the residents. In the meantime, given the current condition of the building, the possibility of a prohibition order remains.”
Responding to the council’s statement, Cllr Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Knowsley Council, said: “It is of course welcome that one of those parties have agreed to take a look at the fire safety issues that lie behind the need for a waking watch and the threat of a prohibition order.
“It is the smallest glimmer of hope that there might be a different outcome for the residents – however it is early days, nothing is yet agreed and so I don’t want to raise people’s expectations at this stage.
“What I can say categorically is that Knowsley Council is here to support the residents at Beech and Willow Rise and that we will continue to do all we possibly can to help those impacted by this situation.”