Welcome to Neverland

 

There are times when we wonder whether there’s a greater force at work (other than Frank Field). We say this as we received these beautifully juxtaposed alerts which allow us to contrast fantasy with reality and proves that ‘WIRRAL WATERS’ IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!

First we have a Financial Times report

Meanwhile a day after the announcement of the closure of Birkenhead’s Marks & Spencer and on the same day that it was  reported that a woman had been assaulted by a man wearing a knuckle duster in House of Fraser , which for now anyway is the town’s last remaining department store, local politicians were obviously in desperate need of a good news story.

We’re afraid to say the closest they got was this Wirral Globe puff-piece optimistically titled ‘Multi-million pound boost for Wirral Waters housebuilding plan’ Read the full bogus story here :  Millions,Billions,Trillions,Gazillions

Here we discover that Wirral  has the honour and the privilege to have been bequeathed £6 million of public money alongside such glamorous destinations as Sheffield, Grimsby ,Cleethorpes, Barnsley, Sandwell , Blackburn and Burnley. Shitholes one and all.

Bigging up the news is the dubious duo of Cllr George Davies : “It’s fantastic news for local residents.” and the man for whom he acts as an electoral agent , Birkenhead MP Frank Field who’s sermon on the mount is : “This is a timely and vitally important boost for Wirral…….Having been working for the past year with the leader of the local authority to try piecing together such a programme, I hope shortly to report further developments”

Working with the ‘leader’ of the local authority Frank ? – does that mean having a conversation with yourself in the mirror? Is it just us or can you smell the desperation or is that the familiar aroma of bullshit?

Since when did handing over £6 million of PUBLIC money to a PRIVATE enterprise like Peel Holdings to piss into the River Mersey constitute a ‘good news’ story? There must be another celebration going on in the Isle of Man as the usual Peel Group tactic of holding on to a previously owned public asset until it attracts public money to GET A BLOODY MOVE ON reaps rewards.

And as for the pitiful manoeuvres of local politicians and their allies the expression ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ doesn’t come close  – and surely nobody but nobody wants to see Gorgeous George and his political master Frankenfield in the buff!

Political Manoeuvres In The Dark

We don’t know whether you’ve been playing close attention to forthcoming Council meetings –  we have. But before we go into detail we first need to remind everyone of the furore that surrounded the Wirral Council delegation that jetted off to the MIPIM event in Cannes earlier this year in pursuit of international investment.

That Riviera Touch

Appropriately enough the French Riviera has long been known as a ‘sunny place for shady people’ and accordingly we were promised an update from Wirral Council’s wannabe Billionaire Boy’s Club about all the millions,billions and zillions that would be flowing into Wirral, and particularly Birkenhead , as a result of  Wirral Council’s ‘offer’ at a planned Cabinet meeting to be held earlier today. Needless to say we were breathless with anticipation at Leaky Towers at the announcement,  as with Martin Liptrot’s spin, Eric Robinson’s charisma and  Cllr Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies’ power of persuasion – what could possibly go wrong?

But lo and behold and as you can see – the meeting was cancelled . First of all we thought it could be because of purdah but then we saw that there was a Cabinet meeting arranged for June 5th – which as you know is before the General Election to be held on June 8th . That means that it couldn’t be purdah that caused the meeting to be cancelled. Therefore we can only hope and pray that Pip and his ever growing team of highly paid ‘transformers’ have a special surprise for us all at the re-arranged meeting, as we don’t think we can go through another Wirral Waters and the extended series of false dawns we experienced courtesy of  Sam Wa and their special emissary, Stella Shiu.

Having said all that , what we couldn’t  find on the Wirral Council website of forthcoming attractions is a Standards Panel which apparently will discuss an investigation report covering 3 complaints against a certain councillor from 3 different complainants. 

Once again we have an overwhelming sense of deja vu as Wirral Council’s ruling Labour group desperately attempt to cover up the dark,dark heart at the centre of their administration. Lest we forget it’s almost a year since the last attempted cover up of alleged elected member misconduct :

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/the-gaslighters-silent-but-deadly/

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2016/06/29/behind-closed-doors/

However rest assured dear readers we will be shining a light on their shady shenanigans no matter how much they wish to keep us all in the dark !

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.

Press Cuttings & Cutting out the Press

We are grateful once again to our well informed and politically engaged readers who have sent us a couple of interesting press cuttings.

The first is from Private Eye and it is a timely reminder of far eastern follies as council leader Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies heroically jets off to China in the face of threats of government intervention if Wirral Council can’t get their act together and address the single most important area they are responsible for – the safeguarding of vulnerable children. Forget empty threats from spineless Whitehall mandarins , here is a heartfelt message from Wirral Leaks to all Wirral councillors and officers : If you can’t get this right you really need to get out of the game. Now!.

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/14776193.Government_issues_formal__Improvement_Notice__to_Wirral_Council_after_shocking_child_care_inspection/

The article in Private Eye is inevitably in the Rotten Boroughs section and although the story concerns Allerdale Borough Council , the infamous Stella Shiu Wirral Waters debacle is cited as a salutary lesson to all councils not to be taken in by dodgy developers promising you an International Trade Centre and delivering prize marrows.

Just a word of advice to Power Boy Pip on diplomacy – perhaps it would be wise not to take one of your deputies to China . From what we’ve heard he doesn’t seem too keen on our oriental friends.

The second cutting is from the publication that can be seen littering local public transport up and down the country – the barely literate Metro. 

Our cheesed-off commuter cheekily asks whether Wirral Council will be splashing out £149.99 on top of Martin Liptrot’s £45K salary for this handy device aptly called ‘Echo’ (you really couldn’t make this up). Oh how Liptrotsky would not only love to control what stories about Wirral Council go in the Liverpool Echo but all local news outlets everywhere , be they non-compliant mainstream media or those pesky local blogs over which he no control whatsoever. Oh how he’d love to wipe Wirral Globe off the face of the earth and pull the plug on Wirral Leaks. In your dreams, Marty!.

With the news that Wirral Council will now be holding a meeting in respect of the recently published and deeply shaming Ofsted report at which the public miraculously will be allowed to attend , can we look forward to the first edition of Liptrotsky’s baby – Wirral Today – featuring a front page exclusive with the headline : “OUR SHAME” ?.

A leaked Wirral Council email which is a masterclass in bureaucratic gobbledygook reads :

Please note that the Mayor has called an extraordinary meeting of the Council to be held on Monday, 17 October, 2016, at 4.00pm. This extraordinary meeting has been called at the request of Labour and Conservative Members, in accordance with Standing Order 1(4), to consider Notices of Motion in respect of the recently published Ofsted report (two requisitions attached).The other Extraordinary meeting scheduled for 5.15pm will take place at 5.15pm, or on the rising of the 4.00pm meeting, whichever is the later, to be followed by the Ordinary Council meeting at 6.00pm, or on the rising of the 5.15pm meeting, whichever is the later. Summonses for all three meetings will be published later next week.

Whilst the timing of the meeting is prohibitory for most of the public might we suggest that what is even more off-putting is that we guarantee this meeting will take political point scoring and platitudinous grandstanding to stratospherically sickening heights.

However we understand that as an incentive for the public to attend there will be a special edition of Extraordinary Meeting bullshit bingo with the winner being the person who ticks all the following  boxes (and the losers being everyone else on Wirral who is ruled by this mob!) :

Going forward/ moving forward (aka ‘The McLachlan’ )

Lessons have been learned

Action plan

Improvement

Wirral Plan

Pledges

20/20 vision

Now is not the time for blame/naming names/scapegoating

Work together

Accountability

Scrutiny

Why are we so crap?

 

 

Chinese Takeaway : 1st Dibs / 2nd Course

We often have a Chinese banquet in the banqueting hall at Leaky Towers as we love Chinese food ( although we understand Wirral Council trade delegate Kevin “Addled” Adderley wasn’t too keen).But you know when they say that sometimes after you’ve eaten a Chinese meal you sometimes still remain strangely unsatisfied ?.Well we feel somewhat the same about yesterday’s Chinese Takeaway delivery.

The Financial Times report (with the obligatory artist’s impression) which we brought to your attention raises more questions than it answers.Although we are grateful for the fact that by the time the print edition was published on November 18th the title of the report had been changed from “Liverpool Goes After Chinese Investment”  to “Wirral strikes land deal with China group” as it seems to have been brought to the attention of the FT’s  “North of England Correspondent”  that Liverpool and Wirral are two entirely different places.

Courtesy of the Financial Times we have provided a full transcript of the report for your delectation below and we’re sure that keen followers of the Wirral Waters saga will note that anomalies abound.

Consequently we have a list of questions we’d like to set out below and if any of our readers have any more please send them to wirralleaks@gmail.com 

• The  FT report appears to us to have been a “controlled leak” via a national newspaper with a niche market .Who authorised this leak and what was the motivation to leak the jubilant news of the Sam Wa/Stella Shiu hook-up rather than being heralded as a “good news” story in the likes of the Liverpool Echo ?
• The plot of land on which  Sam Wa/Stella appear to have been given first dibs is a patch of  former Ministry of Defence land described as a “surburban industrial estate behind Port Sunlight Tennis Club” . Consequently how can this be described as being part of the plan to “kick start” the original £4.5 billion Wirral Waters development which was to built on 500 acres of redundant dockland?.
• Although the FT report makes reference to the fact that Wirral Council leader Power Boy Pip Davies was given “special powers” to approve asset sales up to £2.5 million there is no mention that at the same cabinet meeting that he was also given powers to  remove restrictive covenants on land. As this was a former Ministry of Defence piece of land we can only assume that there were restrictive covenants on the future use of the land.If so what were those covenants and have they been removed to “smooth negotiations”? http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/13944494.Sweeping_changes_will_see_Wirral_s_cabinet_councillors_given_extensive_new_powers/
• Apparently Wirral Council claim the sale of this plot of land “will proceed after due diligence on Sam Wa” .What is the due diligence process and does it include background checks on bankruptcy and financial viability?
• In the FT report Lib Dem council leader Phil ” Rent-A-Quote” Gilchrist has questioned the suitability of the site for a trade centre particularly as the site was “inland with no immediately accessible port facilities”  is “some distance from the M53″ and ” the site has not yet proved attractive to developers”. So we’d like to know whether this is a suitable site of an International Trade Centre or merely a very expensive and financially risky way to save face over the Stella Shiu affair?
• We’d also like to ask where Wirral Council Tory group leader Jeff “AWOL” Green has been during the unfolding of this (and many other) fiascos these past few months.You’d think he had something to hide and wanted to keep a low profile or something !.
• Knowing what we know about how Wirral Council conduct their business we can’t help speculating as to what went on during negotiations in China and led to the granting of special powers behind closed doors at Wallasey Town Hall .Why are Wirral Council absolutely determined to do business with Sam Wa when it seems to be a case of fools rush in where Peel Group fear to tread? .

 Wirral strikes land deal with China group –

ANDREW BOUNDS NORTH OF ENGLAND CORRESPONDENT

It was to be the centrepiece of a mini Shanghai on the Mersey. Now an international trade centre planned for the Wirral could be built on a suburban industrial estate behind Port Sunlight tennis club.

The original £175m scheme was an attempt to harness Chinese investment and to underpin the £4.5bn Wirral Waters development of offices, homes and warehouses on 500 acres of redundant dockland.It would have housed 1,000 Chinese companies wanting to do business in the UK in a tax-friendly zone.

Peel, the multibillion pound property group behind the plans, has ended a joint venture with its Chinese development partner Sam Wa “by mutual agreement” after several fruitless years attempting to recruit occupiers.

It has switched its focus, it says, to potential investors from Korea, India and other fast-growing economies.

But the Labour local council is pressing ahead regardless. It has agreed in private to sell a patch of former Ministry of Defence land in Birkenhead to Sam Wa, the Financial Times has learnt. The deal was approved by its cabinet on November 5, without public scrutiny as an “exempt item”.

The council said commercial confidentiality meant it could not discuss the deal publicly.

The challenges of development in the area were made clear at the same meeting, where the council set up a £16m investment fund for Wirral Waters, saying it would borrow money against future business rates to kick-start construction.

The council papers proposing the fund state that “there are a number of barriers to development, in particular that end values are far less than the actual cost of development”. They also warned that if land prices fell the fund could make a loss.

Peel owns the bulk of the waterfront on the Mersey and is pressing on with the rest of Wirral Waters, although a college and office block are the only buildings to go up so far.

England’s northern cities have been jostling for Chinese investment.

Last month, Manchester hosted President Xi Jinping of China. He announced that Beijing Construction and Engineering Group, a state-owned company already active in the city, would invest in two large offices by the airport, which would cater to Chinese companies.The £130m plan is part of Manchester’s Airport City scheme. President Xi also announced direct flights between Manchester and Beijing.

The Wirral wants to catch up. But the site being sold to Sam Wa is smaller and requires extensive work because it used to belong to the MoD.

Sam Wa was founded and is chaired by Stella Shiu, who changed her name after being declared bankrupt by a Hong Kong court in 2008 for failure to repay a loan.

The sale will proceed after due diligence on Sam Wa, the council said. This month it also agreed to delegate to its leader, Phil Davies, the power to approve asset sales up to £2.5m. The site being sold to Sam Wa was valued at £2m in 2013, according to a document seen by the FT.

Mr Davies said: “Sam Wa, who at an earlier stage were going to be partnering with Peel, are now looking to invest all the money themselves.”

Phil Gilchrist, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council, said he could not comment on so-called exempt items but questioned the suitability of the site for a trade centre. He noted that it was “inland with no immediately accessible port facilities” and some distance from the M53 motorway.

“The site has not yet proved attractive to developers that I am aware of,” he added.

Sam Wa’s stated interests include electronics manufacturing, import and export, timber trading and a large mining concession in the Philippines.

An FT investigation in 2013 found its home at the time was a cramped office belonging to an organisation called “Shanghai Enterprise Top 100 Association”.

Sam Wa’s headquarters in Beijing was a closely guarded military hotel that did not allow outsiders to enter.

Several companies registered under Ms Shiu’s former name have been dissolved on the Chinese mainland.

Ms Shiu and Sam Wa did not answer emails seeking comment.

 

Chinese Takeaway

The fortune cookie who knows a place where they’ve got money to burn… Photo : Wei Quianjiang

On the same day that news of the Liverpool City Region Devolution Agreement was being splashed all over the place like champagne on a Grand Prix podium there was an extraordinary report published in the Financial Times on November 17 titled ” Liverpool Goes After Chinese Investment” which appears to have evaded any scrutiny or comment from the local press.

This is particularly surprising as the report concerns Wirral Waters and the elusive Ms.Stella Shiu.

Usually the mere mention of Wirral Waters and/or Ms.Shiu and the Liverpool Echo whips out the artist’s impression to splash across the front page and they’re telling us that we’re all going to be rolling about in yuan for eternity.

Now as we all know Peel Holdings ,the multi-billion property group behind the long touted and much anticipated Wirral Waters development ended a joint venture with its putative Chinese development partner Sam Wa “by mutual agreement” after frequent flyer trips to China proved fruitless.

Sam Wa was founded and chaired by the mysterious Stella Ching Yim Shiu , who acquired a new name after being declared a bankrupt in a Hong Kong court in 2008 for failure to repay a loan…..like you do.

http://legalref.judiciary.gov.hk/lrs/common/search/search_result_detail_frame.jsp?DIS=63547&QS=%2B&TP=JU

However whilst Peel are now looking towards potential investors elsewhere the FT reports:

” The Labour local council is pressing ahead regardless .It has agreed in private to sell a patch of former Ministry of defence land in Birkenhead to Sam Wa …….The deal was approved by its cabinet on November 5 , without public scrutiny as an “exempt item”.

The all new open and transparent Wirral Council told the FT that “commercial confidentiality” meant it could not discuss the deal publicly.

Also discussed in secret was the fact Wirral Council has borrowed money to set up their own £16m investment fund for Wirral Waters to “kick start construction”.Selectively leaked council papers proposing the fund also state:  “There are a number of barriers to development ,in particular that end values are far less than the end cost of development”.

Which basically means that if land prices fall then Wirral Council will make a loss. This means that the allegedly cash-strapped Council are gambling £16 million of YOUR MONEY to get this vainglorious pipedream up and running.

No wonder they want to be twinned with seedy gambling town Reno !.

Now for a bit of number-crunching : According to a leaked document seen by FT the site being sold to Sam Wa was valued at £2m in 2013 and funnily enough at the cabinet meeting held earlier this month it was agreed to delegate to its leader, Power Boy Pip Davies ,the power to approve asset sales up to £2.5 million !.

Well fancy that!

Meanwhile in an attempt to confront the Chinese dragon in the room  the FT reminds us that several companies registered under Ms.Shiu’s former name have been dissolved in China. However the elusive Ms.Shiu is not responding to their emails about this issue or the proposed momentous sell-off.

Under the circumstances we can’t speculating about those publicly funded trade delegations/shopping trips to China involving Wirral Council officials and exactly what went on to convince them that a bankrupt with an apparent penchant for drinking potential business partners under the table was an attractive business proposition?.

I think we should be told.

But we’d bet £16 million of public money we won’t be!………