Councillor Pat Hackett introduced a report on the New Ferry Explosion Scrutiny Review carried out by a cross party panel set up by the Business Overview & Scrutiny Committee, consisting of Councillors Dave Mitchell, Jo Bird, Steve Hayes, and Mike Collins.  The agreed outcomes were:

·  to ensure that all necessary steps had been taken to address those residents, traders and other people affected by the incident; and

·  to consider what improvements could be made by the Council and partner organisation in their response to future disasters. 

The review had been carried out during November and December 2019 when there had been several interviews and stakeholder sessions held.  The full report, recommendations and scoping document were attached as appendices to the report.

The eight recommendations were as follows:

“

1.  The Council should focus on putting people directly affected first. For example, making hardship payments to victims as soon as the scale of a disaster and needs of the victims has been fully identified. In certain urgent circumstances, the Local Authority should consider making these payments without the approval of full Council. Bespoke support should also be included, through the NHS, housing services and Victim Support or other advocacy providers.

2.  The Panel notes that some residents and traders felt they didn’t know who to turn to. Contacts numbers for the public to use should be coordinated, up to date and available for the public to use immediately, via a centralized 0800 number. This should be publicised online and through the media as well as in paper copies. Translators and British Sign Language should be made available for those who need them. Social media to be used to convey information and updates and special information channels to be created such as text messaging. Key numbers such as victims, injuries and property damage should be put out by communications to avoid any media under reporting.

3.  Any future incidents that involve significant damage to a site or area, the local authority should ensure that the site is ‘made good’ and landscaped once they are able to access it legally. This could be through grassing, hoardings or involving the local community with murals. Where possible the area should be screened to reduce the visual impact of the site on the community. The council should also actively attempt to improve the sites before we have legal access to the properties. Once the site is available for regeneration, the wider community should be consulted as much as possible to include their ideas and should be delivered.

4.  There should be pro-active support for traders, as stated in the All Hazards Emergency Plan. More communication, promotion and marketing with council support. Open for business signs should be installed as soon as the area is secure. National government should be approached and requested to make payments for loss of trade to businesses consistent with other places affected by disasters such as Salisbury and Whalley Bridge.

5.  The authority should delay billing until insurance companies are taking claims and/or ensure that bills go with a sensitive cover letter to explain who to contact and advice on payment. Vulnerable victims should not be threatened with legal action by the Council as the impact can be particularly damaging to mental health. Proper organised advice should be given to victims regarding recovery via legal means (their own solicitor, CAB) and single point of contact should be utilised. If the site is classified as a crime scene bills should be held back until after court proceedings have concluded.

6.  Ensure that the emergency response file is updated on a regular basis and seeks feedback from people directly affected by incidents so that all points are covered. and reported to the relevant committee on an annual basis (to include updates on all significant incidents that have occurred that year such as flooding). The Council’s All Hazards Emergency Plan was last updated in 2011 and then 2018. Officer should also ensure that all hazards recovery plan is regularly reviewed and after incidents. Formal lines of communication should be kept open between officers and all councillors. Every Councillor should have a contact number for emergency situations, with council wide briefings sent to all members.

7.  Bellwin Scheme to be applied for in the first instance as per its own recommendation;

‘’It is wise to report the incident even if spending is not likely to exceed the threshold.  In the event of a later scheme taking total spending for the year above the threshold, the earlier spending would not be counted towards the threshold unless the relevant incident was reported at the time’’.

 The Council’s costs were £573,778, after hardship payments were made to all victims in August 2019. The panel noted that this was more than enough to have met the Bellwin threshold for government reimbursement. Applying for the Bellwin scheme in a major incident within the given deadline also emphasizes the seriousness of the incident. It is then up to the National Government Authority to determine what resources can then be provided.

8. A major incident should be called early on, even if another agency has already declared one. This can always be stepped down, however in accordance with the Council’s All Hazard’s Emergency Plan, an off-site gold command meeting should have been called and minutes should also be taken at all meeting and made available to the public. The chief executive or their nominee should be directly involved in the recovery and gold command meeting, in accordance with the All Hazards Emergency Plan. They should also visit the site and listen to the community. Briefings should also be sent to all elected members to ensure they are kept up to date with the event as it unfolds.”

The report had been considered by the Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 23 January 2020 (Minute No. 41 refers.)  The Committee had resolved to support the contents and recommendations of the scrutiny review ‘New Ferry Explosion’ and had referred the report to the next appropriate Cabinet meeting for consideration of the recommendations made.

Councillor Hackett reported that the explosion in New Ferry on 25 March 2017 that had a devasting effect on people’s lives and businesses. Over 40 businesses had reported damage; 15 of these had reported serious damages and eight had been forced to cease trading with immediate effect; 32 households suffered significant damage with 68 people being displaced in temporary accommodation.  Cabinet Members would never forget the events of that evening.

Councillor Hackett informed that following the explosion, the Council had undertaken, in consultation with the local community, a New Ferry Regeneration Delivery Plan. One of the key elements of the Plan was to remove derelict properties from the New Ferry Centre while at the same time creating development opportunities for new residential units to help to re-populate the town centre.

Over the past three years, the Council had progressed several innovative projects to regenerate the area and rebuild the community.

The Council was supporting New Ferry Rangers Football Club in developing the Community Clubhouse in an innovative approach to utilising the site, making it work smarter for all the local community. The Community Clubhouse project sat very comfortably alongside the Council’s aspirations for community wealth building. The project clearly hit several of the concept’s core principles; not least ‘Plural ownership of the economy’ and ‘Socially just use of land and property’.

Using £500k of funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the Council had acquired 78-80 New Chester Road former Shillings Pub on behalf of New Ferry Community Land Trust (CLT), with a view towards its refurbishment, to enable it to be brought back into economic use. Essentially a mixed-use scheme, first floor residential with ground floor retail. The income from this would be regenerated into New Ferry for the greater good of the area. The project would provide some financial support to CLT to strengthen its governance and to enable capacity building and future income generating activity.

As part of the New Ferry Masterplan, the Council had submitted three outline planning applications for the three key development sites in New Ferry; explosion site, cleared site opposite on Bebington Road, and Woodhead Street car park. These were currently with Development Control for determination and it was anticipated that decisions on these would be known shortly.

Works to improve the physical appearance of the precinct in Bebington Road would commence shortly. The Council would be appointing contractors to excavate the site of the explosion (41-43 Bebington Road) by removing the concrete slab, levelling the land before applying a crush and run type finish. Once completed this area could be used by the community for a variety of worthwhile/pop up uses until firmer plans for its redevelopment were proposed. Following this Griffiths’ butchers would be demolished to create a larger development site opposite, which in the short term could be used to create a community garden. Tenders for the demolition works had been received last month.

Councillor Hackett reported that a comprehensive funding bid had been submitted to the Government’s Future High Street Fund in June 2020 and a decision was expected in October 2020.  Cabinet Members were hopeful of securing the funding required to accelerate the regenerate the New Ferry area.  The Metro Mayor funding was being used to secure sustainable long-term premises for the New Ferry Community Land Trust.  New Ferry was one of the Councils priority regeneration projects as agreed earlier in the year.

Finally, Councillor Hackett reported that the Cabinet had considered the contents of the report and the recommendations made and was happy to accept some of the recommendations with a few observations where the recommendations could not be fully agreed. 

Councillor Anita Leech thanked the Scrutiny Panel for the work it had carried out.  She also thanked the community groups, the Local Ward Members, the officers concerned and the artists who had been involved with the artistic impressions that could now be seen in Rock Ferry.  Councillor Leech reported that this had been a very difficult time for the residents and the businesses of that area and that it was fantastic to see that planning applications were now coming through to improve the site for the local people.

Councillor Janette Williamson concurred with Councillor Leech.  Councillor Williamson, who had been affected by the blast, informed that she was now looking forward to the improvements to be carried out in her local area.  She informed that the murals were amazing and that they made such a difference.  In the longer term, with the regeneration plans now in place, she was hoping that New Ferry would grow and prosper.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the Panel’s recommendations 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 as detailed above be agreed;

(2)  it be noted that recommendations 3, 5 and 8 are beyond the Cabinet’s control;

(3)  in respect of the Panel’s recommendation 3, the Cabinet’s response be as follows:

“This recommendation can be accepted where this is agreed with the land or property owner before the Council has legal access or on safety grounds.” 

(4)  in respect of recommendation 5, the Cabinet’s response be as follows:

“This can be agreed only in relation to the following item ‘Proper organised advice should be given to victims regarding recovery via legal means (their own solicitor, CAB) and single point of contact should be utilised.”

The Cabinet is unable to agree to delaying billing as the Council has a statutory requirement to invoice for expenditure within the year it has been incurred.  Therefore, a delay in sending out bills to customers where it has incurred expenditure on their behalf is not possible. 

However, the Cabinet agrees that vulnerable victims should not be threatened with legal action in such circumstances where insurance companies are taking claims and can agree to place a hold on the recovery of these invoices until this has been resolved.”

(5)  in respect of recommendation 8, the Cabinet’s response be as follows:

“This can be agreed where the Council has control of Gold Command for future incidents and the incident fits the criteria for declaring a major incident.  Where the Council does not have Gold Command, it may request that a major incident is called but is not in overall control as to whether this will be granted.”

(6)  the Cabinet thanks the Scrutiny Review Panel for the work it has undertaken on the review.  The Cabinet is pleased that a way forward has been agreed that is satisfactory to all interested parties so that the Scrutiny into the tragic event on the evening of 25 March 2017 can be concluded.”

Councillors Tony Jones and Tom Usher left the meeting.