Knowsley Council has successfully prosecuted a housing developer of two stalled developments within the Borough, resulting in a £14,000 fine.
After a recent hearing at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Liverpool Community Homes PLC were penalised for abandoning sites on Brook Hey Drive, Kirkby, and Lyme Grove in Huyton, which became targets for fly tipping and antisocial behaviour and a source of concern for local residents.
Thanks to work by Knowsley Council’s Environmental Health, Planning, and Crime & Communities teams the company was successfully prosecuted, sending a strong message to businesses of their responsibility to comply with legal duties put in place to protect the communities they work in.
Work on the two sites stalled in the summer of 2021. By 2022, the sites appeared neglected and were targeted for anti-social behaviour. The owners of the sites were warned that they needed to take action to prevent this from happening. As issues continued, formal Community Protection Notices were issued in the summer of 2022, and after the company again failed to take sufficient action, prosecutions were brought for failing to comply with these notices by the Environmental Health Team. During this time the Council’s Environmental Health team also took steps to remove fly tipped waste on the land and secure the site on several occasions to reduce the potential for further environmental crimes to occur.
After the recent hearing, the company was fined a total of £14,000 including costs for these breaches. The company will also need to take steps to comply with the Notices in order to avoid further prosecutions for the offences.
Cllr Shelley Powell, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods said: “We know how stalled developments, and the resulting antisocial behaviour, can impact on our communities. As a local authority we have acted swiftly and taken a robust and strong approach to tackling this issue.
“Following this conviction we will continue to monitor this site and hope that work on site will once again resume.
“In the meantime, we will ensure the site is secure and our Crime and Communities Team will engage with the community and work with community safety partners to mitigate against further incidents of ASB.”
REPORT IT
If you would like to report antisocial behaviour ring 101, visit www.merseyside.police.uk or email our Crime and Communities Team on safer.knowsley@knowsley.gov.uk
If it’s an emergency call 999.
You can also report anonymously Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.