letter to Frank Field MP

The following letter is self explanatory. It follows a visit by Frank Field MP to James Kay to discuss next steps in the TRACE campaign to persuade Wirral Council not to make demolition the only option in the Chiurch Road Masterplan.


Frank Field MP
The Houses of Parliament
25th August

Dear Mr Field

Thank you for calling by this week and for your support in TRACE's campaign.

In advance of our meeting tonight with Cllr Phil Davies and colleagues to discuss renovation alternatives to demolition in Tranmere, I am writing to tell you about an incident which happened last night which you might like to share with the Minister when she visits you to discuss HMRI in Tranmere.

At 11.35 last night (the 24th of August) my telephone rang. It was my neighbour across the road who told me that he had just witnessed a young man steal one of the hanging baskets from outside my front door. I went outside and was told by the neighbour that the thief had gone onto Church Road with the basket in his hand. I jumped into my car with my partner and we went down onto Church Road. 100 yards away was a young man in his twenties walking along with my hanging basket in his hand. I drove down, jumped out and grabbed the basket from him. We exchanged some heated words and he punched me on the jaw and ran off. I went straight home and called 999. I told them that I had been assaulted and that the assailant was last seen running down out of Tranmere and gave a good description. The person who took the call said that she would do her best to get a squad car to deal with this but that they were very busy.

One hour later at 12.35 I was called back by the police control room and told that it would be several hours before an officer could attend. We arranged that an officer would come to see me this morning and take a statement from me. I was given a log number for the incident - 1529 on 24/08/05 - and she rang off.

My point is not to criticise the police. No doubt they were unable to attend because of more serious criminal activity at the time. My point is that this incident is typical of what happens in Tranmere and it is what leads people to want to leave the area. If Tranmere is to be revived as a happy and healthy community we have to feel confident that when we make even such minor improvements as putting up a hanging basket it will not be ruined by some barbarian deciding late at night that he can steal it and assault anyone who tries to stop him - with impunity.

We need a lot more money spent on policing in this area so that when a citizen calls 999 they get a response, reliably within minutes of the call coming in and not be told that because of lack of resources the police will not be able to come "for hours". Instead of our taxes being spent on this critical service we find that millions of pounds are to be spent in Tranmere (£52 millions according to the Echo recently) - on knocking down perfectly good houses against the wishes of those living in them - and then building newer houses which are no better than the ones they are pulling down. They are doing this in the belief that it will improve the area.

This is very disheartening.


Yours sincerely


James Kay
cc. TRACE Ctte members, local Councillors, Tranmere Together and the TRACE 'blog

United Communities Group July 05

These are the minutes of the Tranmere and Rock Ferry United Communities Group. This brings together all the community groups in the area.

Minutes of Meeting
Thursday 21-7-05
10am Prospect House

Present: Hazel Roberts, Len McCormack, John Steele, Steph Reid, Steve Lally, Simon Petris, Ann Adams, Mr Bentzen, John Chesworth, Lorraine Norris, Pat Haynes
Apologies: John Davies, Mary Petris, Pat Tyson

Guest Speaker: Jean McIntosh – B&NBEAG
Lowell Williams – Fire + Rescue Service
Jean talked all through her presentation on the B&NBEAG project (see attached). She is happy to liase with those interested in how it was brought together and invited all to attend their next meeting at the Gautby Rd Community Centre on Friday 14th Sept 1pm-3pm. Contact Jean on 201 8610.

Lowell gave out Home Safety Check leaflets, last year there had been 30-40 deaths this has been reduced to an average of 10 per year now (contact 0800 731 5958). He then talked about the moves to make Wheelie bins fire-proof over next 10 years (advised not to put wheelie bin fires out with water unless at a safe distance of 20yds). If you want to report dumping of abandoned cars or fly-tipping contact him at office on 606 5499 (07970661443) lowellwilliams@wirral.gov.uk

Minutes of meeting 12-05-05: Read and agreed

Matters Arising from last meeting:
Church Rd Regeneration –

TRACE (James Kay) will be submitting a resident’s petition to the Select Committee end of July regarding the proposed plans.

TAG (Hazel Roberts) has liased with Frank Field to set up an open meeting between residents and relevant Council representatives to discuss concerns, date and venue to be decided. If you have questions to put to them please contact Hazel or Steph Reid on 644 1100,these can then be brought together for the meeting. SR to inform Andy Beech –5 Ways RA.
Rock Park Esplanade – Peter Riley looking into funding possibilities

General:
Together Update - The Health Impact Assessment held on 30th June at Tranmere Alliance Community Hall substituted the last UCG meeting, Karen Stratford has completed a report on the views given about the key themes discussed from the Together Delivery Plan, if you want any further information contact Together on 649 1690. The new Community Engagement Officer is starting on 5th Sept. Next Together Residents Group meeting will be held in October at Tranmere Alliance Community Hall, date to be confirmed.


Resident Group Reports

Lees Ave - Sure Start are moving into Rock Ferry Primary
School this month. This is going to put an extra
strain on the parking in the area especially at school
drop off and pick up times. Council have not taken
any of their solutions on board to date, Ian
Ramsden (Technical Services) has visited but not at
peak time.

• 116 properties - 89 can park – 27 can not
• Primary School 15 spaces – 6 for Sure Start -51 will not have spaces to park
• Whitfield Street RG They have a similar parking problem with
  visitors/staff of Tranmere Community Project
  
  Neighbourhood Wardens - Reports of bogus ‘Tree Surgeons’ coning money from people (white van red lettering) - police need their descriptions.

Alleygates for Between the Parks area will start in August.

Any Other Business
Expert Patient Programme – The NHS are running courses to help long term patients manage living with their illness’ more effectively. The first of these will start on 7th Sept. at Tranmere Alliance Community Hall, if you or anyone you know is interested in taking part contact Lisa on 651 3865
Streetcage Soccer – New activity being offered for local young people during the Summer Holidays by Together and Tranmere Alliance, contact Wendy Hartley on 644 1100.


Date of next meeting:

Thursday 9th Sept 2005 10.30am Prospect House

Liverpool Echo Story Aug 5th 2005

The following story was run in the Liverpool Echo on the 5th of August after Echo journalist Sam Lister visited the area with a photographer. It is reprinted without amendment.


Homes to be razed in £52m facelift

Aug 5 2005

By Sam Lister, Liverpool Echo

HOUSES in a run-down community will be wiped out after two thirds were condemned unfit for habitation. Around 50 homes in Tranmere have been earmarked for demolition. Many have not been occupied for more than a decade and have major structural problems. They will be cleared, along with shops, as part of the £52m Housing Market Renewal Initiative. Planners then want to turn the area into an "urban village". Although residents are behind the plans they have objected to some of the homes being bulldozed.

James Kay, chairman of Tranmere Residents Association Church Road East, (Trace) said:

"Some of the homes don't need demolishing. They've had thousands spent on them and many of the owners have lived there for years. We're all for the Church Road front being pulled down but in some of the other areas it's totally unnecessary.

They'll have to spend around £100,000 of taxpayers' money on buying each of them, then rebuild them when all they have to do is spend a little money on renovations. The system is also unfairly skewed against older people. Many of the couples have paid off their mortgages and are too old to get a new one so it will be difficult for them to move into somewhere as nice as the homes they've spent years doing up."

The plan would also see 35 shops pulled down along with six other business units. A new town centre would then be built with 4,600sq m of retail and office space and 133 new homes.

Ward Cllr Phil Davies said:
"The transformation will be tremendous. Everybody is agreed on the fact regeneration is needed, some of the buildings are in a terrible state. "We've agreed to meet the residents to listen to their concerns and will try to reach a conclusion where everyone is happy. "The problem is, much of the money to finance this depends on clearance and redevelopment."

samlister@liverpoolecho.co.uk 0151 472 2488

TRACE submission to Housing Select Ctte

This is an excerpt from a submission from TRACE to the Housing and Community Safety Select Committee 26th July Wallasey Town Hall

The submission reflects the views of local residents directly affected by the HMRI and living as it were under its shadow. A petition signed by local residents will be presented at the Select Committee meeting which will confirm their support for the position it advances.

What do local residents in the Church Road Masterplan area think of the proposals?Almost all of the residents consulted by TRACE were in support of the regeneration of Church Road. Many residents took the view that it was long overdue and must go ahead now without any further unnecessary delay. Several of those speaking at our meetings said that they had been involved over many years with previous attempts to establish a “Tranmere Urban Village” and had been greatly disappointed when this did not go ahead in the past. They were very keen that regeneration go ahead this time. This is why the supporting petition calls upon Wirral Council to “continue with their improvement planning” for the Church Road Masterplan.


Does support from local residents for Church Road improvement include support for demolition of homes in the areas behind Church Road against the wishes of those living in them?
No it does not. That is why the petition presented tonight will call on Wirral Council “not to make demolition the only option” for those in the target property zone. Amongst those consulted by TRACE the overwhelming majority were opposed to anyone’s home being demolished against their wishes. Several residents who had been in the previous options one to three at the first stage of consultation, spoke of their relief that their properties were no longer targeted for demolition and of their support for those who were now under the threat. Other residents whose properties are in the targeted 52 properties also spoke eloquently at the meeting.

One resident in Seymour Street explained that she had lived there for many years and had seen the area deteriorate. To be under threat of demolition now just as the area is finally looking like it might be on the way back - was described by her as “cruel”.

Another resident in Thompson Street described the many improvements to her home that had been made over many years. She talked of her home with pride and that it had no need of any further work of improvements. It seems her home was now just in the wrong place. She had got a valuation of her home from a local estate agent that was in the region of £130,000. She had been visited by Council officers who had offered her considerably less than this but still a large amount of public money. She did not understand how it could make any sense to spend public money in this way to buy up and then demolish an attractive sound home and then plan to build a new house to a lower specification and with a smaller garden on the same site.

Another resident higher up in Thompson Street in the target zone described how he moved to the area with his seriously ill wife because he could afford the house, which also had a garden even though it needed quite a lot of renovation work. He has been doing that work at his own expense over the last two years and in the midst of this was visited as part of the NRA.

He and his wife have now been told that their property failed the NRA assessment for the 1985 Housing Act and has been therefore deemed unfit for human habitation. This is despite the fact that he was only part way through renovations when the assessment was made and the work now complete makes the house perfect for his needs and fully compliant with the 30 year standard. He and his wife are very determined not to leave a home they have worked very hard to make their perfect. A picture of their home is given at the top of this article.

James Kay the Chairman of TRACE who lives in 21 Seymour Street recorded an identical experience. A council officer failed this property on the grounds that the internal decorations were substandard after visiting it in the midst of the renovation process. Renovations have now been completed fully at the owner’s expense. This property was scheduled for demolition under the previous options but is now not in the target zone. The new demarcation line for demolition has now been redrawn to end at the edge of number 19 - one property short of number 21.

A resident in Warrington Street spoke at the meeting and explained that he had received conflicting reports on whether his property had need of any structural work. As far as he was concerned it did not need that work. In a previous visit by council officials he had been told that minor settlement had occurred many years previously. Now it seems he has been told that his property needs major structural work. He refutes this but in any case cannot understand how it makes more sense to spend a lot more money knocking down rather than supporting him to improve his home if it does need any more work.

Many others spoke at the meeting against compulsory demolition and could not understand why it was necessary to knock down all these homes in the streets behind the main development area.

What do local residents think should happen instead of compulsory demolition?Local residents believe that people living in the streets behind Church Road shopping area who wish to stay in their homes, should be supported to do so and helped to improve their homes if they are in need of further work to achieve the 1985 Housing Act standard. That is why the petition calls upon Wirral Council to “support residents who want to stay in their own homes and improve them.”


Why should Wirral Council support local residents who want to stay in their homes rather than see them demolished?

§ Because no one should be forced from their homes against their wishes unless the only alternative is a very real community harm. Such harm has not yet even been adequately defined let alone proven.
§ Because the case has not been made yet that the improvements on Church Road depend on the wholesale clearance of streets behind. The developer (Lovell) who is being considered for this work has not been briefed yet to explore a renovation option for these streets. A Lovell senior representative told James Kay during the consultation process that demolition is the only option that the council is considering for the target areas.
§ Because even where structural problems exist they can be dealt with for much less than the cost of demolition. Most houses have received only a cursory examination and before a case is made - for example that they are structurally irreparable - more work should be done involving the residents concerned in making this assessment and considering the various options.
§ Because the Human Rights Act (s8) protects citizens to live peacefully in their homes and protected from arbitrary authority. This right can be overwhelmed under s1 of the Act if there is a compelling public interest in doing so. That ‘public interest’ case should be made and debated before the decision to demolish has to be confronted. Failure to do so before the renovation option is abandoned will leave the authority vulnerable to a successful challenge to the Inspector at the CPO stage and possibly to a legal challenge later.
§ Because demolition is not the only option. Demolition should only be used as a very last resort when all other alternatives have been exhausted. In most cases these alternatives have not even been tried. In other areas affected by HMRIs renovation has now been brought back on the agenda. This has now been done in Liverpool after resident reaction to demolition plans. In Preston imaginative renovations and redesigns have been implemented for much smaller and older terraced blocks than are evident in Tranmere. There is a practical alternative to demolition.
§ Because forcing residents out of their homes will damage community cohesion. Those who most want to stay include many of those who are most active in local community spirit and activity. They have demonstrated already by their campaigning how lively and constructive is the Tranmere community. This spirit should be nourished and encouraged but it is at risk of being soured and demoralised if the Council demonstrates that it is not prepared to keep the renovation option alive.
§ Because forcing owner-occupiers out of their home will worsen the ratio of owned to rented properties. The Council has committed itself to improve the tenure ratios in favour of more owner-occupiers. The current ration percentage is 62:38. After compulsory demolition that ratio will worsen.
§ Because it will effectively discriminate against the elderly. The people most cruelly affected by the plan to demolish properties are those over the age of 55 who even if they wished to do so, cannot take out another mortgage. Many of them will be forced either back into the rented sector or into substandard housing in other low value areas not in the NRA area. This is because they will not be able buy another property in the same condition as their own for the ‘market’ price that Wirral Council will be able to offer them. This older group of people are the backbone of the Tranmere Community and vital to its continuing identity and future cohesion. They are the ones who hold the community memories and will be a very important conduit to the past when the new urban village community takes shape.
§ Because it will worsen inequalities. Those least able to afford the new housing in Tranmere will include those owner-occupiers of all ages whose houses are demolished. They will also be pushed further down the housing ladder. They will be in a similar position to older residents. They will be replaced in Tranmere by those who can afford the entry-level costs – predicted by Lovell to be in the region of £135,000 for the 3 bedroomed properties they are planning for Church Road. Tranmere is at the moment one of the few areas on the Wirral where starter homes exist at prices that people can afford. The net effect of this change will be to widen and not narrow housing inequality in Tranmere.
§ Because it will be a great deal more expensive. Even if the existing owners were to get substantial grants and/or equity loans to make improvements it would still only cost a small portion of the demolition alternative. It is not at all certain that much will need to be spent on the properties where the owners want to stay. Most are adamant that they do not require much improvement and have not had other than cursory examinations by council officers.

This financial imbalance and lack of value for money is worth an extra paragraph. Even according to the papers submitted by the Housing and Regeneration department, the average spend needed to reach the 1985 standard on the target properties is under £30,000 per unit. This is about a third of the cost of demolition and rebuild. TRACE is now asking you “How can the renovation option be swept away at this stage in the face of such obvious cost improvements from a viable alternative?”

§ Because it is the right thing to do at this stage. It will bring local residents and Council officers together into a creative team committed to making a practical success of the improvement plan that the community wants and the area desperately needs.


What action is needed by Wirral Councillors?

You have the overwhelming support of the local residents for the suggested improvements on Church Road but not for compulsory demolition of resident’s homes in the area behind Church Road.

We urge you on behalf of residents in the Church Road Masterplan Area, to keep alive the renovation option where residents wish to stay. This will need a clear message from the Select Committee to the Council’s officers to work with the developers and with local residents to work out how that can be achieved on a block-by-block basis.

TRACE will continue to work with local Council officers and with staff from Tranmere Together to support and represent the views of local residents and to advocate their continued involvement in decisions about their properties



For more information on any of the above please contact

James Kay
TRACE
21 Seymour Street
Tranmere
0151 647 1903
07976 839 054

jameslkay@ntlworld.com
www.tranmereresidents.blogspot.com

Article from the local paper

Dot's dilemma - From the Wirral Globe

WIRRAL mum Dorothy Smith could be saddled with a bill for £27,000 if she wants
to remain in the home she has treasured for the past 30 years. Having paid off the mortgage on the Warrington Street house in Higher Tranmere, Dorothy, 58, was looking forward to a comfortable retirement.

But her dreams were shattered by a call from a local authority structural
engineer surveying the house in connection with a major housing regeneration
plan for the area as part of the Government's multi-million pound Housing
Regeneration Initiative.

Along with many others Dorothy's home could be under threat in plans for a
massive revamp for the neighbourhood. She is adamant that she will fight to
save her property. But following the visit of the engineer she recognises
that she is in a "Catch 22" situation.

She said: "According to him the house needs underpinning at a cost of £27,000.
If I move I will have to take out a mortgage to get a similar house, plus all
the upheaval and distress of moving."

The mother-of-three's plight has been recognised by Wirral Council housing
chief Cllr George Davies, who this week pledged to provide Dorothy with all
the financial advice at the council's disposal.

He said: "Mrs Smith has got quite a conundrum; but if she takes out a new
mortgage and has a shortfall of, say £30,000, the council can provide 'gap'
funding under the terms of the Government initiative.

"If she has financial worries the council can help out."

Dorothy disclosed: "We were told that because the house next door had been
propped up for 15 years the whole street was at risk from subsidence. But my
house doesn't look as if it is subsiding and I am determined to stay.

"My home is worth fighting for and I will fight."

Dorothy has spent hard-earned cash on her home over the years to get it the
way she wanted. The house has been pebble-dashed front and back and all windows are
double-glazed. The toilet, bathroom and kitchen have been re-plastered and ten new internal doors have been fitted. A wrought iron gate and railings add a touch of elegance to the property and a small lawn has been added at the back.

She observed: "I have finally got my home the way I wanted it. It is my little
palace, if you like, but it seems as if all my years of scrimping and saving
to buy these things have been wasted."

Cllr Davies said: "I am convinced that an agreement will be reached which is
acceptable to both Mrs Smith and the local authority. "We have a tremendous record in this respect. We have never yet had to compulsorily purchase anyone's home."


He said that following a neighbourhood open day to test local reaction to the
regeneration scheme, more than 65% of residents had indicated approval for
redevelopment; a further 25% had expressed approval with reservations and
less than 9% were against the scheme.