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Liverpool council wins legal battle
00:00 04 Aug 1999
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Exclusive by Michael Gordon
Liverpool City Council won a legal battle against property developer the Walton Group in the Technology and Construction Court last week.
Walton paid £25,000 for a reservation order on the site of the National Discovery Park, Chavasse Park, in 1996. It now refuses to release control of the site, wishing to capitalise on its investment with a private £160 million development (CJ 26 May 1999).
The council won a week-long trial, giving it unequivocal rights to the site, but the Walton Group made an immediate appeal. The council pleaded with the judge over the urgency of resuming construction, and was given assurances than an appeal would be heard at the earliest possible convenience.
However, the future of the £125 million millennium project still remains uncertain as work remains on hold.
Councillor Mike Storey said: "The Walton issue is the last remaining impediment to progress on the Discovery Park and the Council anticipated that the decision in the High Court would be respected by both parties.
"In deciding to appeal, Walton may expose itself to substantial damages should the outcome of the appeal be rejected and, as a result, the further delay in hearing the appeal lead to the failure of the Discovery Park to proceed as a result of missed funding deadlines. The council is carefully considering its position in this regard.
"We regret the matter ever came to court, particularly as the Council has been attempting to resolve the matter amicably with Walton for some time. The need to go to court has inevitably delayed the implementation of the scheme by several months."
A date for the appeal has not been set, but it is expected to be in early September.
Storey added: "We now look forward to Walton applying their efforts in a more constructive way by developing their properties at the Old Post Office site at Whitechapel which has remained derelict since they acquired it in 1982, and Exchange Flags near the Town Hall which has been almost completely empty for almost ten years despite major injections of public sector grant."
Liverpool City Council won a legal battle against property developer the Walton Group in the Technology and Construction Court last week.
Walton paid £25,000 for a reservation order on the site of the National Discovery Park, Chavasse Park, in 1996. It now refuses to release control of the site, wishing to capitalise on its investment with a private £160 million development (CJ 26 May 1999).
The council won a week-long trial, giving it unequivocal rights to the site, but the Walton Group made an immediate appeal. The council pleaded with the judge over the urgency of resuming construction, and was given assurances than an appeal would be heard at the earliest possible convenience.
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However, the future of the £125 million millennium project still remains uncertain as work remains on hold.
Councillor Mike Storey said: "The Walton issue is the last remaining impediment to progress on the Discovery Park and the Council anticipated that the decision in the High Court would be respected by both parties.
"In deciding to appeal, Walton may expose itself to substantial damages should the outcome of the appeal be rejected and, as a result, the further delay in hearing the appeal lead to the failure of the Discovery Park to proceed as a result of missed funding deadlines. The council is carefully considering its position in this regard.
"We regret the matter ever came to court, particularly as the Council has been attempting to resolve the matter amicably with Walton for some time. The need to go to court has inevitably delayed the implementation of the scheme by several months."
A date for the appeal has not been set, but it is expected to be in early September.
Storey added: "We now look forward to Walton applying their efforts in a more constructive way by developing their properties at the Old Post Office site at Whitechapel which has remained derelict since they acquired it in 1982, and Exchange Flags near the Town Hall which has been almost completely empty for almost ten years despite major injections of public sector grant."
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