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Maghull Town Council denies claim '1m missing in hall rebuild'

Maghull Town Hall has been closed since a major fire broke out there in February 2025

[Maghull Town Hall fire on Hall Lane]

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Maghull Town Hall fire on Hall Lane(Image: Colin Shannon)

A Merseyside town council has denied rumours that 1m has gone missing from a large insurance settlement, while one of their own councillors has called for transparency and believes the correct figures should be shared.

Maghull Town Hall has been closed since a major fire broke out there in February 2025. It is understood that the town council initially had two options for rebuilding the hall.

The first was that the insurance company would contract a builder to take on the renovation and manage the project. The second was for the insurer to pay the town council a settlement and leave the council to engage a contractor and manage the works themselves.

In March, the town council picked option two, opting to receive the funds directly from the insurer and manage the project itself.

A spokesperson for Maghull Town Council told the ECHO at the time that it conducted a public consultation in August and September 2025, the results of which indicated public support for a newly built, replacement town hall building.

[Maghull Town Hall still closed after the fire]

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Maghull Town Hall still closed after the fire(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

However, the ECHO has been told that the final settlement from the insurer is substantially less than the original amount estimated to be needed for the rebuild, with Lydiate & Maghull Community Independent parish councillor Andy Wilson claiming that the figure had been reduced by 1m, and that this amount had gone missing.

Maghull Town Council has rejected this suggestion, saying it is not accurate and no money has gone missing.

Cllr Wilson told the ECHO he stands by the figure, and believes it could be as high as 1.3m.

Exactly how much money is needed for the rebuild, and how much the settlement figure is, are not publicly available figures because discussions were held at private council meetings where the press and public were excluded.

In an update published in June, the town council said that recovery works on the town hall continue to move forward.

[Fire damage at Maghull Town Hall ]

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Fire damage at Maghull Town Hall (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

Adaptations to the rooftop scaffold are currently underway to facilitate the next stage of demolition and structural works, while electrical rewiring and gas supply works have also commenced. Heating system installations are scheduled as part of this ongoing programme of essential infrastructure works.

The council added that architects are progressing with designs for the future of the hall with further details to be shared over the coming weeks.

Independent councillor David Leatherbarrow, who has brought two rejected motions to the council calling for transparency over the negotiations around the settlement, told the ECHO that the information was initially commercially sensitive but now that the deal has been made he believes it should be shared.

The council has agreed to commission an independent report setting out a chronology of events including key decisions and the evolution of the insurance claim, but Cllr Leatherbarrow said that he does not know when it will be published or who will write it.

[Maghull Town Hall, picture by The Propeller Fella]

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Maghull Town Hall, picture by The Propeller Fella

He said that when the fire happened he thought the backstop option of letting the insurer carry out the rebuild was safest and that councillors understood that this would remain on the table while a decision was reached.

He said: In September 2025, we saw some architectural drawings of a proposed new building. We carried out some surveys with the public to see what theyd like, and we had an amount we were working off which had been determined by a surveyor.

We agreed that if we came back after Christmas and we couldnt achieve anywhere close to that figure, we would just allow the insurers to rebuild as a safe option, or at least that we would go back to a vote.

When we came back in March, we were told that the safe option to allow the insurers to rebuild was now off the table. I asked why it was off the table, there was no answer. I asked when the deadline was and what wed missed, and was told there was no deadline.

[Cllr David Leatherbarrow at Moss Side Lake and Grotto in Maghull]

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Cllr David Leatherbarrow at Moss Side Lake and Grotto in Maghull(Image: Liverpool Echo)

I asked if there was anything in writing I could read, and was told it was negotiated verbally over the phone with no deadline and nothing in writing. So we only had one option left which was to accept the settlement figure.

Although he said he could not share the protected figures involved, he said: The settlement that had been offered was significantly lower than wed previously agreed would be enough.

Cllr Leatherbarrow said he is also concerned that the rebuild does not currently have a project manager in place. He said: Weve been asked to make some extremely large decisions on the building. I dont feel comfortable making some decisions, and have asked repeatedly since the fire if we can hire a project manager.

If youve got an architectural drawing and a figure to work to, then all of a sudden youre working off a figure thats significantly lower, then youd expect to see new architectural drawings, new project management, and none of that has happened.

Cllr Leatherbarrow said that he is concerned that if the town hall rebuild proves to be a failure, it brings into question the usefulness of a town council at all. The only reason weve got such well-maintained parks and green space in Maghull is because weve got a town council and a precept paid as part of council tax.

If that all goes away and we have to rely on Sefton to maintain the parks, Im not confident that theyd be kept in the same manner, or that wed even keep the parks.

Cllr Leatherbarrow added: I personally feel as though theres a massive divide between councillors and it would be nice to get back to a group of volunteers working together on a common aim.

But at the moment, I cant just be silent on not being confident with whats going on. It does worry me.

A spokesperson for Maghull Town Council said: Maghull Town Council is aware of public comments and social media speculation suggesting a missing 1m in relation to the Town Hall insurance settlement. That characterisation is not accurate. No money is missing.

Early in the process, we had a variety of advisory figures from the loss assessor and a counter figure from the loss adjuster. The final settlement figure we agreed was between these two.

It is disappointing when rumours and partial information are presented as fact in a way that risks causing unnecessary concern in the community. We are committed to ensuring the rebuild is carried out within this settlement amount.

In the meantime, despite this catastrophic event, Maghull Town Council continues to deliver well-maintained parks and green spaces for residents and has an ambitious plan for the future of Maghull, including developing a Youth Club and enhancing the value of parks and community spaces for local people.

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