So what happened each month in 2017?

So what happened each month in 2017?

So what happened each month in 2017?

                                    

Cllr Phil Davies on Hoylake Golf Resort at Hoylake Community Centre 9th December 2017
Cllr Phil Davies on Hoylake Golf Resort at Hoylake Community Centre 9th December 2017

2017 was such a newsworthy year it’s hard to know where to start.

January

The year started with councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority furious over the refusal of planning permission for a new fire station in Saughall Massie.
Continue reading “So what happened each month in 2017?”

Should EU laws on the environment be disregarded by the British judiciary before the UK has left the EU?

Should EU laws on the environment be disregarded by the British judiciary before the UK has left the EU?

Should EU laws on the environment be disregarded by the British judiciary before the UK has left the EU?

                                                 

Planning Committee (Wirral Council) site visit Saughall Massie fire station 18th July 2017
Planning Committee (Wirral Council) site visit Saughall Massie fire station 18th July 2017 (this is the site for the proposed fire station)

In a follow-up to yesterday’s story Wirral Council’s Cabinet agree 150 year lease for fire station in Saughall Massie I am going to write an editorial on a related matter. I’ll start by pointing out that I was the Appellant in the First-tier Tribunal matter referred to and Applicant in the related Upper Tribunal case.

Below is an opinion piece, I am not a legal professional and one of the costs decision referred to is sub judice. However as Editor I have decided there is a public interest in these matters being written about for various reasons.

Continue reading “Should EU laws on the environment be disregarded by the British judiciary before the UK has left the EU?”

Wirral Council asked Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for £1.65 million towards new road for Hoylake Golf Resort

Wirral Council asked Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for £1.65 million towards new road for Hoylake Golf Resort

Wirral Council asked Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for £1.65 million towards new road for Hoylake Golf Resort

                                                 

Amey OW Limited invoice page 1 of 2 Saughall Massie Link Road
Amey OW Limited invoice page 1 of 2 Saughall Massie Link Road

Continue reading “Wirral Council asked Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for £1.65 million towards new road for Hoylake Golf Resort”

Wirral Council consult on 11 metre wide Hoylake Bypass as part of Hoylake Golf Resort project!

Wirral Council consult on 11 metre wide Hoylake Bypass as part of Hoylake Golf Resort project!

Wirral Council consult on 11 metre wide Hoylake Bypass as part of Hoylake Golf Resort project!

                                                                

ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) logo
ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) logo

This story continues from three earlier blog posts, headlined What are the 21 paragraphs of reasons why Wirral Council opposes release of the Hoylake Golf Resort contract?, Wirral Council asks judiciary to intervene to keep 94 page report on Hoylake Golf Resort secret! and ICO require Wirral Council to release 94 page draft agreement with Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited about Hoylake Golf Resort.

The vast majority of the development agreement for the Hoylake Golf Resort (although there is still disputed information which will be resolved by a First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) case) was released by Wirral Council yesterday and published on the whatdotheyknow.com website.

There is also mention of the Hoylake Golf Resort in the Strategic Regeneration Framework consultation, specifically on page 36 of the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework of a proposed road.

The proposed road referred to in the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework referred to in the development agreement as Hoylake Bypass is defined as a “7.5 metre, two-way undivided main carriageway with a 1 metre wide service/buffer strip and a shared 2.5 metre wide gateway/cycleway (providing for a 11 metre minimum total highway width) which is to be constructed on the Site pursuant to the Highways Agreement the approximate route of which is shown marked in pink on plan 6 or along such other route as the Developer and the Council may agree (acting reasonably)”.

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EXCLUSIVE: Wirral Council spent £1,009.35 on “media training” for councillors and a further £57,659.24 on legal costs over unreasonable land charges

EXCLUSIVE: Wirral Council spent £1,009.35 on “media training” for councillors and a further £57,659.24 on legal costs over unreasonable land charges

EXCLUSIVE: Wirral Council spent £1,009.35 on “media training” for councillors and a further £57,659.24 on legal costs over unreasonable land charges

                                    

Jim Hancock invoice media training Wirral Council councillors
Jim Hancock invoice media training Wirral Council councillors

Wirral Council spent £1,009,35 on “media training” for councillors provided by Jim Hancock. The training was provided to councillors on the 16th March 2016, 27th April 2016 and 14th June 2016.

Part of the cost of the training were three round trips from Lymm to Wallasey (81 miles each time) charged to Wirral Council at 45 pence a mile costing £109.35.


I will declare an interest in the next part of this article as I’m currently awaiting a permission to appeal decision in relation to costs relating to an Environmental Information Regulations request (which doesn’t relate to land charges) which will be decided by the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights).

In an update to a story from last year about overcharging by Wirral Council, Wirral Council paid a further £57,659.24 to its lawyers Bevan Brittan in a dispute over unreasonable land charges. This followed a First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) case that ruled that such charges were unreasonable.

Bevan Brittan invoice APPS case land charges refund
Bevan Brittan invoice APPS case land charges refund

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