People say they fear for their future
People who work at the businesses on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Business owners are shocked and furious after being told they have to leave their industrial units. Traders on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate in Widnes say they were told at the start of this month that they have to pack up and go by March 31 after the estate was bought by Halton Borough Council.
The businesses were informed in a letter sent to them by solicitors acting on behalf of the council. The council, along with developer Cityheart, submitted plans for 240 new homes on the estate in September.
It would form phase two of a wider Foundry Lane ‘masterplan’ first unveiled back in 2022, which is being supported by funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Phase one, on a separate part of the land, started last year.
However, business owners on the site have told the ECHO they were unaware that they would have to make way for the development so soon and say they face the imminent collapse of their companies if the plans are not delayed and financial support put in place.
A spokesperson for Halton Council told the ECHO the site was allocated for housing development four years ago and the council have bought the site themselves to support the work on the next phase of the plan. They added the council will “work with the businesses to agree a timeframe” for them to vacate their premises.
Derek Twigg, MP for Widnes and Halewood, has called on Halton Borough Council to review the situation “as a matter of urgency”.
Chris Shwenn of CS Motors(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Chris Shwenn, 41, who lives in Halewood, runs CS Motors garage on the Golden Triangle. He told the ECHO that the news that his business would have to leave the site came as a “massive shock”.
He said: “I was devastated as well. I’ve invested so much money over the last 18 months, two years into the business.”
Chris said he was aware of the potential housing development but no-one informed him or any of the other firms on the site that they would have to leave their premises so soon.
He said: “It’s always just been chit chat and nothing’s ever come with it. Obviously, time’s gone on and they’ve decided behind the scenes that they’re going to do it.
“(The council) has had meetings with the local residents and the parish council, and discussed what’s happening with the site. We only found this out over the last week since we’ve had the notice.
“Not once has anyone been to the site and actually spoke to us, or give us any information, or told us it was going and it was actually happening and it wasn’t just chitchat.
“We received a letter and it said something along the lines of, we’re giving you your notice from March 1, and we need you to be out by the 31st, because they have to give you the full month in the same month.
“I sold my house last year and basically invested all the equity (into the business). I’ve put other investments into it because as far as I was concerned, I was going to be here as long as some of the older boys have been here.
“So in my head I was setting myself up, I was investing the money, and then obviously a couple of years down the line, it’ll pay back and I’ll have my return and it’s a good investment.
“To then be told you’re going, it was a massive shock. I wouldn’t have invested so much money if I thought it was just a stop gap sort of thing.
“I’m sitting here looking around with all the equipment I’ve bought and got nowhere to take it. It’s not an underused industrial state. It’s a thriving industrial estate, to be honest.”
Chris is calling on Halton Council to delay the process and either offer firms an alternative location to relocate or offer financial support.
He said: “I’ve already got some quotes together and it’s just ridiculous amounts of money to relocate. What I’ll be asking the council is, have you got anywhere else for us to go? If you haven’t, have you got money to compensate us?”
Chris’s wife, Laura McMonies, 35, has a container storage business in the Golden Triangle. Like Chris, she claims she was told early this month that her business had to “remove everything and go”.
Laura said: “There are companies that have been there for years. There’s one company that’s been passed down through three generations within a family.
“Me and my husband sold one of our houses last year and invested over £120,000 into the businesses thinking that the site was staying.
“We’ve had quotes of over £50,000 just to move the containers alone, never mind moving as a business. We’re hoping that the council are going to be able to do something towards it or put us somewhere else.”
Halton Council are planning to build new houses on the Golden Triangle(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Shaun Gill, 40, from Widnes, runs Clean Renewable Solutions and uses a site on the estate for storage of their loft insulation equipment.
Shaun says the council have gone about the process in an “very underhanded” manner and in the process have put the jobs of around 200 people who work for the 40 businesses on the estate at risk.
He said: “We can persevere with what happens but there are lads on site who rely on other companies on the estate for business. You’ve got metal workers, joiners, tyre fitters – every business on site gives each other business.
“I just don’t believe they can tell a company for 20 years that they’ve got four weeks with no help, no compensation. It’s just a lump it and leave it.
“Me personally, (I think) what they’re doing is very underhanded. They should be helping the companies relocate. There should be financial compensation.
“We got a letter from a solicitor saying we had to be out in 30 days. That’s 16 lads out of a job straight away.
“It’s going to be an absolute nightmare logistically and I think that’s the biggest concern. Widnes is a very small town. The businesses here worked in harmony, now we’re trying to fight each other for new sites.
“Our yard is basically storage. We’re in and out there 24 hours a day. Where do we find a similar situation where we can have six vans at once?
“It’s a sore point and I’m there to support all the other lads. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Lavis Engineering Ltd staff(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Aaron Walsh, 32, from Garswood in St Helens, has worked at Lavis Engineering since he left school but now fears unemployment. The firm specialises in metal, offering a range of services from providing steel to installing gates.
He said: “It was a massive shock. It’s heartbreaking. I did my apprenticeship here when I left school and I’ve been here ever since. We’d heard whispers (about the housing development) and then we got this six week letter. That’s all we heard.
“We’ve got big equipment. All that needs moving and with the economy at the moment, there’s a bit of a fear of the future. Machines have to be wired in, you’re looking at months without work.”
A spokesperson for Halton Council said: “The site was allocated for housing development in the Local Plan four years ago. Phase one of the new housing development, which started on site last year, will deliver 63 affordable and social houses by the end of the year.
“The acquisition by Halton Borough Council of the Golden Triangle was intended to maintain momentum and support delivery of the next phase of development.
“We understand the uncertainty this process can cause. Our intention has always been to work alongside the businesses to support relocation in a way that minimises disruption. We remain committed to being flexible, and we will work with the businesses to agree a timeframe as we move forward together.”
The ECHO has been told the letter telling the businesses they had to be out by March 31 was based on legal advice.
The ECHO understands that, as the council did not own the site until recently, they could not issue a Section 25 Notice (the mechanism under the Landlord and Tenant Act to terminate a business tenancy).
Once the land was acquired, and registered with the Land Registry, a Section 25 could be issued. The notice must be served at least six months before the termination.
In a statement provided to the BBC, Derek Twigg MP said: “I fully recognise the concerns from businesses based on the estate, and I understand that this matter is causing them great uncertainty.
“I have contacted Halton Borough Council to ask that they review the situation as a matter of urgency in order that these businesses have the support they need.
“If businesses are expected to relocate, clearly they need to be afforded time to do this and so I hope that the council will work proactively with all those affected to allow them to plan ahead.
“I will continue to press the local authority to keep these businesses at the forefront of any decision making around this issue.”