Knowsley MP urged the Government to create a support package to help residents on a Kirkby housing estate
Willow Rise in Kirkby(Image: LDRS)
The ongoing crisis on a Kirkby housing estate has now been raised in the House of Commons as hundreds of residents face eviction from their homes.
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. Soon afterwards, residents received a notice from Knowsley Council informing them the tower blocks were ‘unsafe’, after an assessment from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS).
Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley was in attendance at the House of Commons this morning and raised the urgency of the situation at Beech Rise and Willow Rise and addressed a question to the Leader of the House, Lucy Powell.
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 headlessor of both Willow Rise and Beech Rise is Rockwell (FC100) Limited.
Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgely in Parliament(Image: Parliament TV)
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.
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.
The ECHO previously reported on a letter sent by Knowsley Council 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.
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.
Beech Rise in Kirkby(Image: LDRS)
However, a MFRS spokesperson said these works had not progressed; a prohibition notice would be served, and residents must leave immediately. MRFS added: “This means the buildings will no longer be safe for residents to live in after the current waking watch ends.”
‘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. This service was paid via Dempster using funds accrued from leaseholder contributions, but funds expired earlier this month and without it, both tower blocks cannot meet their fire safety obligations.
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.
Earlier this week, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member, Cllr Tony Brennan, attended a meeting in Westminster with Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Alex Norris MP and Knowsley Council’s Executive Director responsible for housing, Dale Milburn.
Willow Rise in Kirkby(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
The meeting was arranged at short notice and in response to the unfolding ‘catastrophe’ at the Kirkby tower blocks. Cllr Brennan said: “With the management company confirming that they have no funds to carry out the works that would be needed to bring the buildings up to a safe standard – which would run into millions of pounds – we have had no choice but to advise residents that they should now seek alternative accommodation as soon as possible.”
The government is now exploring ways in which further support can be provided for residents at both Kirkby tower blocks. Responding to Ms Midgley’s question in the House of Commons, Lucy Powell MP said: “This is a shocking case […] and one which I know has attracted a great deal of attention.
“This government expects landlords and freeholders to cover the cost of decanting residents, including providing suitable alternative accommodation and the loss of income that may come from that, and I will absolutely ensure that the minister continues to work with my honourable friend to make sure that happens in this case.”