Historic Southport building to go up for auction

THE historic building that housed the former Taskers Sports Store, in Southport Town Centre, has been put up for auction with a guide price of ₤400,000.  The striking detached red brick property on Corporation Street, which was opened in 1898 as Christ Church Higher Grade School, will feature among more than 100 lots for sale at Pugh's next North West property auction, at the AJ Bell Stadium, in Manchester, on 3 December 2019. Subdivided into 2 units, the 6,000 sq ft 2 storey building has a large rooftop terrace which was once used as a playground.  Paul Thompson, managing director of auction house Pugh, said:- "This is a really well known Southport property and it would be really good news for for the town if it were given a new lease of life. There is potential for redevelopment subject to the necessary planning consent and not surprisingly we have already had high levels of interest from potential purchasers."

Historic Southport building to go up for auction

A Liverpool landlord's been hit with a bill of more than ₤2,500; after being found guilty by Magistrates of managing an unlicensed property ridden with defects that had never had a gas safety inspection. Ahmed Kayse Ahmed, from Wavertree, was charged with failing to license a property under Section 95 of the Housing Act 2004. He twice failed to attend Court, with the offence proven in his absence, on 17 October 2019. Mr Ahmed was fined ₤2,000, plus costs of ₤542.26 and a victim surcharge of ₤170.

During the sentencing hearing that was held on 7 November 2019, District Judge Jack McGarva heard how the property, on Beaconsfield Street, Toxteth, had a litany of disrepair issues. These included numerous reports of mice infestations and the fact the landlord had never carried out a mandatory gas safety inspection during the course of the tenancy, which began in 2014.  Judge McGarva described it as a:- "serious offence" and said the landlord had demonstrated a:- "complete disregard" for the Landlord Licensing Scheme, had:- "exposed the tenant to serious risk" and that the property presented a:- "danger to life."

Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Lynnie Hinnigan said:- "This case illustrates the importance of the Landlord Licensing scheme in keeping private tenants safe. A large proportion of landlords have willingly signed up for the scheme and are working positively with us, which is why it is not fair on them that some are wilfully ignoring the law. We will continue to take robust enforcement against those landlords who think they do not need to comply."

The Landlord Licensing scheme began in 2015 with the aim of improving standards in the private rented sector and so far 49,000 licences have been issued. Around 20,000 compliance actions have been carried out, with 70% of inspected properties found to be in breach of their licence conditions, more than 2,000 legal and fixed penalty notices have been issued and over 150 landlords prosecuted. Tenants and members of the public can check if a property has the required Landlord Licence now on the Liverpool City Council's website and report unlicensed properties to:- Unlicensed.Landlord@Liverpool.Gov.UK.

Did you know?  A bid to renew the scheme for another 5 years from April 2020 has been submitted to the Government.

Get ready for the Formby Nativity Play 2019

ON 30 November 2019, the Churches Together, in Formby, Altcar and Hightown (CTIFAH) will be holding their Nativity Play outside Formby Pool. The event sees the area's 5 Anglican Churches', 4 Roman Catholic Churches, Methodist Church and United Reformed Church performing scenes from the Nativity on an open air stage. The free event will be held twice, starting at 10:30am and again at around 11am. This years show is called:- "The Advent Calendar" and will have 2 local Schools, Our Ladies and St Luke's Schools taking part in it.

Letter to Editor:- "Formby Fireworks - 5 November 2019"

"I was there spectating, the fireworks were ace and done safely. There are no neighbouring houses so it cant cause a nuisance in that way. And the event raised over ₤1000 for Woodlands animal charity. It's a private event, so because there's no entrance fee people donate to Woodlands instead." Ann-Marie Comish, from Formby, Merseyside.

Editors Note:- This is in reply to our post to a video we posted on our Formby Reporter Facebook Page and a report we ran in the previous edition.