The company behind a housing scheme in Sefton has handed over £1k to the mayor’s fund.
Crosby based Forth Homes, the developer behind a scheme at a former farm on Holgate Road in Thornton, where planning approval was given last year as long as pink footed geese got fed – gave the donation last week to the mayor’s Christmas appeal.
Posting about the news on Twitter, Sefton Mayor Clare Carragher said: “Absolutely delighted to visit Forth Homes in Crosby this afternoon and to not only receive a £1,000 donation to my Charity Fund but they have also donated toys to my Christmas Toy Appeal a huge thank you to Darren Hardy and all the team there!!”
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Darren Hardy is a former Sefton councillor who resigned his position in 2010 when he moved across to Liverpool City Council to take up a senior officer position.
He recently left his role at Liverpool Council as divisional head of housing, where he had been involved in a range of projects, including the development of Liverpool’s ‘ethical housing company’ Foundation Homes, and now works for Forth Homes.
According to the register of interests of his wife, cabinet member for housing and communities, Cllr Trish Hardy, he works for Abode Homes, a letting agent of choice for council housing company Sandway Homes – which is “including Fourth [sic] Homes.”
Both companies are based out of the same office on Liverpool Road in Crosby.
Cllr Trish Hardy and her father, leader of Sefton Council Cllr Ian Maher, had to recuse themselves recently from a decision about the sale of council land to the company due to the connections of a family member.
When a decision came to cabinet in October regarding the sale of land and 300 year old cottage at the former Orchard farm in Thornton, both councillors made a declaration of interest that they had a “relative who is an employee of a business referred to in the report.”
Both Cllr Hardy and Cllr Maher also were noted as leaving the meeting and not voting on the agenda item. The land was sold for an undisclosed amount, as part of the report was made exempt due to commercial confidentiality reasons.
Forth Homes were given planning permission last year to build 200 homes on the site amid a row over protected European bird species.
A section 106 condition was attached to the planning permission that pink footed geese, migrating birds who land nearby, should be fed “in perpetuity” at the developer’s expense to offset any damage caused by development on the land, which was previously part of the greenbelt and a former potato farm.
Abode Homes is listed on publicity material as the estate agent for interested parties to contact for Sandway Homes, the council owned housing company set up in 2018 to build market rent and affordable homes across the borough.
Three projects to build a total of 141 homes have been beset by a range of delays which, according to a recent council report, could impact upon dividends, loans and land transfer deals associated with the schemes.
The council has also loaned the company over £8m and it is owed over £2m for the land.
Cllr Hardy defended Sandway Homes last week at a cabinet meeting to discuss a business plan update, stating: “Thank god that Sefton Council continues to intervene in its own housing market and put high quality affordable housing on the scene.”
Cllr Hardy also said that despite the challenges the company had faced, the decision to set up Sandway Homes had been “the right one.”
Regarding the mayoral fund donation, Forth Homes responded to the mayor of Sefton’s post about the visit to accept the donation on Twitter saying: “It was an absolute pleasure to have you.”
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