Online / Off Course

Thanks to our source for sending us this excellent explanatory graphic.

 

Apologies – this leak from Wirral Council has been in our inbox for a week but events somewhat overtook us . The leaked email below is one that was sent to all Wirral Councillors by a local resident voicing their concerns about the Hoylake Golf Resort or Hoylake housing development with attached golf course as we prefer to call it!

Although we’ve covered some of the  ground previously https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2016/04/30/big-hitters/  our enquiring local resident proves again that the interweb thingy is full of fascinating facts if you know where to look and brings some new and interesting information to the fore (!). Shame some of our senior councillors and council officers aren’t acquainted with the wonders of www as they might have been better informed about not only about the golf resort proposals but the past activities of the likes of Stella Shiu and Stewart Halliday!

Based on past experience  we can’t help thinking that our concerned resident’s plea to councillors : ‘I hope that you will look further into these matters and continue to ask
searching questions.’ will sadly end up in the Wirral Council bunker known as ‘recently deleted items’!

Subject: Hoylake Golf Resort – Wirral’s Preferred Development Partner

*Hoylake Golf Resort*

*I am asking you to look further into Wirral’s choice of partner for the
proposal to build a golf resort, a luxury housing development and a 5* spa
hotel and conference centre on Merseyside’s Green Belt land – Niklaus Joint
Venture Group*

WMBC have made much play about Jack Nicklaus’s involvement – he features in
a video on the Golf Resort website.  Everyone love a celebrity.  But the
Nicklaus Joint Venture Group consists of 5 directors, none of whom are Jack
Nicklaus.  Jack Nicklaus himself has no shares in the company.  Golf
courses under this company are designed not by Jack Nicklaus, but by his
son, Gary.  Gary is the “Nicklaus” of the company name.  The majority
shareholder of the company is *James Anderson*, who holds over 80% of the
shares.  James Anderson has been the director of 18 companies, most of them
now dissolved.

The interesting comparison for the Hoylake Golf Resort is with the *Machynys
Nicklaus Golf Resort in South Wales*, a very similar development to that
proposed for Wirral. The original Machynys planning application was for a
golf course, hotel, spa and enabling residential development, just like the
one proposed for Hoylake.  The NJVG is registered in South Wales.

James Anderson was the director of Carms Construction which built the
houses at the Machynys Nicklaus Golf Resort.  Carms Construction then went
into liquidation with liabilities of over £600,000.  Machynys Homes (of
which Anderson is also a director) which sold the houses wasn’t affected.

James Anderson was the man who promised to bring a 125 bedroom four star
Hilton Hotel to the golf resort in Machynys. However, the Hilton Group
pulled out of the Machynys project because of “flooding concerns”.
Planning permission at Machynys was granted despite Environment Agency
Concerns about flooding:

http://online.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/agendas/eng/plac20071108/REP03_02.HTM#
P127_1522

The hotel has yet to be built, although outline planning permission was
granted in July 2002, nearly 15 years ago. No hotel, no accompanying jobs.

The issues affecting the Machynys Resort are despite the significant
advantages it has over the proposed Hoylake site.  It is in a prime
location, with an adjacent beach and views over Cardigan Bay.  It has good
access, with three roads, each with a bridge over the adjacent railway line.

Carmarthenshire County Council was very supportive of the project, entering
into agreements with James Anderson’s companies. Councillors enthused about
how the hotel project would be fantastic for the area bringing jobs,
tourism and investment, in an exact parallel with Wirral.

Wirral Council already has a questionable record of choosing development
partners – witness the history of Wirral Waters involvement with Chinese
company Sam Wa.

The danger is that the events of the Machynys Golf Resort are repeated,
leaving a luxury housing development on Green Belt land as the main
heritage of the proposal.

I hope that you will look further into these matters and continue to ask
searching questions.

Big Hitters

What was that phrase that Wirral Council bandied about to absolve themselves of any responsibility when the much heralded Stella Shiu/ Peel Group  Wirral Waters International Trade Centre  sank without trace ?  – Ah! yes , they’d undertaken “due diligence” .

“That’s a first” trilled Her Ladyship.

Based on subsequent events we can only presume “due diligence” didn’t include Googling Shiu to get some useful background information!.

Consequently we’ve been asked whether we have any info about Wirral Council’s “preferred development partner” for the proposed Hoylake Golf Resort – Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited  – and exactly what is Jack Nicklaus’ role in the scheme.

From what we’ve discovered so far it seems to us that Nicklaus has licensed his name and Skyped a message over from the States praising  Hoylake’s famous micro-climate . Hoylake has a micro-climate – who knew? . Judging by this week’s weather we can only presume he means golf ball size hailstones in late April.

 

So we thought we’d  find out about the big hitters who Wirral Council are investing so much hope in and check out the Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited  (NJVG) at Companies House.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxrkIjRDgrB-TnhlLTVWZjJqOWc/view?ts=57191ab1

It was less than reassuring to see that the big hitters behind the venture have invested an underwhelming  £1,000 in the company. Of the 1000 shares -a mere 50 quids worth are owned by  Nicklaus Design LLC.

However this is an entirely sensible approach as potential investors obviously need reassuring that the not inconsiderable obstacles of planning and conservation regulations in general and those relating to the Green Belt in particular can be overcome.

At least the people behind NJVG seem to have a track record of undertaking such a project  when they set up the Pentre Nicklaus Village over a decade ago.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/nicklaus-village-homes-demand-2476840

What is also apparent is that the Hoylake Golf Resort proposals seem to very much follow the pattern of  Pentre Nicklaus Village  project which incorporated a housing development alongside a golf course.

Indeed it seems that the only way of making the  Hoylake Golf Resort project viable is by building 150+ luxury homes on Green Belt land. With Wirral Council having already spent an estimated £275,000 on consultants trying to make this scheme stack up it would seem that they think this is a sacrifice worth making. This all begs the question as to whether the real aim (and moneyspinner) here is the housing development and whether the golf resort is the means of achieving that aim.