Liverpool 1 to celebrate Taylor Swift and other music legends

GLOBAL superstar Taylor Swift is set to be celebrated at Liverpool ONE ahead of her arrival in the City, to kick off wider plans to honour music legends this summer.

With just over 6 weeks until the singer brings her Eras Tour to Anfield Stadium, Liverpool 1 is calling on local artists to design a special 'Taylor's piano' as part of the retail and entertainment destination's paid artist commission for Tickle the Ivories.

Tickle the Ivories, the piano festival which takes place every summer, encourages both professional and amateur pianists to showcase their talents on pianos set up across Liverpool ONE.

Each year, artists are commissioned to design and decorate the pianos in line with a specific theme.

This year, artists are being asked to create their own tribute to both Liverpool and international music legends.

From the likes of P!NK and Girls Aloud who are performing this summer, and the return of Mathew Street Festival in August, to Liverpool-born stars, such as Cilla Black and The Beatles, artists can choose exactly who they'd like to pay tribute to.

LIVERPOOL City Council has successfully placed a Banning Order on a rogue letting agent operating unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

Trophy Homes Ltd was hit with the order relating to convictions from February 2023, including the failure to license 2 HMO properties.

The Banning Order was granted on:- Thursday, 25 April 2024, under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and will remain in place for 4 years. As a result of the Order, Trophy Homes Ltd will also be placed on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents, to which all housing authorities in England have access.

The order was granted by a 1st tier Tribunal and prohibits the letting agent from letting housing in England, engaging in English letting agency work, engaging in English property management work, or doing two or more of those things. Breaching the Banning Order is a criminal offence.

Existing tenancies are not subject to the ban for a period of six months, meaning Trophy Homes is prevented from granting any new tenancies, but current tenancies can end or assign without significant impact on current occupiers.

Earlier this month, Trophy Homes Ltd was charged upwards of £250,000 for the failure to license their HMO properties.

Residents who have concerns about their rented home can search the register of licensed properties or report poor quality conditions or landlord.

HMO factfile:-

• Liverpool City Council requires all HMO properties with 5 or more people to be licensed. HMO licensing is vital to ensure licence holders keep their properties to a decent standard.
  
  

• HMOs pose a higher risk to safety than other rental properties. A person living in an HMO is 6 times more likely to die in a fire compared to a single-occupancy property. Due to the greater number of persons in the property, there is an increased chance of rapid wear to vital safety features like fire doors and smoke alarms. In bedsit HMOs, there will be multiple sets of cooking facilities in all bedrooms, which also increases the likelihood of a fire occurring
  
  

• Students living in HMOs can be vulnerable residents, as they may be living independently, perhaps in a different City or country for the 1st time and are unaware or worried about complaining to their landlord, or the Council.
  
  

• Failure to let a property without the appropriate licence is a criminal offence, and as the officers for all companies were aware of their requirements, they are individually culpable.