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Hundreds of people could 'lose everything' in five months time

People working on the site have criticised the council's plans and approach

[Business owners on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate in Widnes]

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Business owners on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate in Widnes(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

An industrial estate in Widnes could be demolished by the end of this year affecting hundreds of jobs. Traders on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate say they were told at the start of March that they have to pack up and go by the end of that month after the estate was bought by Halton Borough Council.

The businesses were informed in a letter sent to them by solicitors acting on behalf of the council. The council, along with developer Cityheart, submitted plans for 240 new homes on the estate in September of last year.

Business owners told the ECHO they were unaware that they would have to make way for the development so soon and warned they faced the imminent collapse of their companies if the plans were not delayed and financial support put in place.

They were later told that the deadline had been extended to September 30 but many have accused the council of not offering support to relocate and claimed they were not aware that the estate had been earmarked for housing.

A spokesperson for the council previously told the ECHO that business tenancies can be terminated with a section 25 notice but these must be served within six months before the termination.

They argued this is why a section 25 was issued when the council recently acquired the site.

The council has now lodged an application to find out if prior notification is required to bulldoze the estate. Unlike a full planning application, an application for prior approval is not seeking formal permission to demolish the site, which is normally not required anyway under something called permitted development rights.

It would let the council check that any such work would be done safely. If approved, demolition would take place on October 1 this year.

Business owners on the estate said it is home to around 30 or 40 firms encompassing everything from loft insulation to ice cream vans. They estimate collectively the firms all employ around 200 people.

[Martin and Shelley Freeman at their cafe on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate]

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Martin and Shelley Freeman at their cafe on the Golden Triangle Industrial Estate(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

Several people from Merseyside work on the estate, including Martin Freeman, who runs Shelley's cafe with his wife Shelly. Martin, 55, from Aigburth, said: If we lose this place, we lose everything. We paid 13,000 for this place 12 years ago. Weve spent thousands of pounds on new windows.

I'm 55, my wife is 62. At this age, its going to be difficult to come back from this. Were going to be left in the open.

Chris Shwenn, 41, who lives in Halewood, runs CS Motors garage. He said: I sold my house last year and basically invested all the equity (into the business). I've put other investments into it because as far as I was concerned, I was going to be here as long as some of the older boys have been here.

So in my head I was setting myself up, I was investing the money, and then obviously a couple of years down the line, it'll pay back and I'll have my return and it's a good investment.

To then be told you're going, it was a massive shock. I wouldn't have invested so much money if I thought it was just a stop gap sort of thing.

Im sitting here looking around with all the equipment Ive bought and got nowhere to take it. It's not an underused industrial state. It's a thriving industrial estate, to be honest.

I've already got some quotes together and it's just ridiculous amounts of money to relocate. What I'll be asking the council is, have you got anywhere else for us to go? If you havent, have you got money to compensate us?

A spokesperson for Halton Council said: The Section 25 notice must be served at least six months before termination of a business tenancy, so thats why it was issued once the council became the owner of the site.

"The site was allocated for housing development in the local plan four years ago. Work on phase one has been progressing over the past few years, with the intention of moving forward to phase two in due course.

Our Business Growth team is aware of the situation and may be able to offer support. They can be contacted at business@halton.gov.uk.

The council is following the statutory process for obtaining vacant possession to facilitate regeneration. That process includes statutory compensation where appropriate.

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