By Matt O’Donoghue
“Block D is an inferno right now,” the urgent message flashed across my screen. “Look what’s been torched.” Then came a flurry more, each painting a grim picture. “Not sure how other blocks are faring, they’ve been evacuated.” Videos and photos started flooding in, confirming the worst. “Seen this. I feel sick.” And then, a message that resonated with a chilling finality: “Fox Street’s final chapter.”
Block D, a skeletal remnant of the Fox Street Village residential project, stood engulfed in flames on the edge of Everton. The news spread like wildfire itself, and my phone became a conduit for shock and dismay. People I’d connected with during five years of reporting on the Fox Street saga reached out, their messages echoing a shared, somber prediction: “It was only a matter of time.”
As firefighters battled to contain the blaze, preventing it from leaping to adjacent blocks, the digital realm buzzed with frantic updates. Chris Burridge, an apartment owner in Fox Street Village, stood amidst the smoldering ruins the day after the fire, Sunday, January 28th, surveying the devastation. “Something like this had to happen,” he stated, his voice laced with a weary resignation. Twisted steel girders resembled a mangled roller coaster, groaning and creaking as they cooled. Debris flapped in the wind, a testament to the inferno’s power. “There’s been no decent perimeter fence for some time, even though we’ve been reporting incidents. We were lucky Block B didn’t go up. The flames and heat were ferocious. Mersey Fire saved those buildings.”
Indeed, luck played a significant role. Fox Street Village, initially envisioned as a 400-apartment complex across four blocks, never fully materialized. Block D remained an unfinished shell for half a decade. The completed blocks, however, were home to residents, making the potential for catastrophe immense. Letting agents were quickly on-site, offering support to tenants and initiating the daunting cleanup. Insurance brokers and risk assessors became part of the unsettling landscape. While essential services like lifts, heating, and water were swiftly restored, black debris blanketed the grounds and the roofs of neighboring blocks, with burnt insulation and wood continuing to rain down.
Residence 365, the property management company responsible for the Village’s communal interiors, played a crucial role in assisting residents’ return. Carolyn Delaney, Residence 365’s managing director, recounted the chaotic evacuation: “Unfortunately, as the fire started to take hold, many residents in Block A failed to evacuate. Police had to force their way into every apartment to make sure that building was clear and everyone was safe. Those doors and frames will have to be repaired.”
Block B bore the brunt of the fire’s proximity. Its walls and windows were visibly warped, the cladding buckled and wavy, likened to “bad icing on an overbaked cake.” Cracked and broken glass, window frames distorted by the heat, and activated fire breaks under the cladding signaled extensive damage requiring significant repairs.
Adding to the residents’ frustration was the apparent absence of estate management. “The grounds and estate management company are nowhere,” an exasperated Burridge pointed out. Xenia Estates Limited, reportedly responsible for external areas, was nowhere to be seen. “It’s outrageous. They’ve sent nobody down here to help or make things safe.”
Kevin Robertson-Hale, a local activist and founder of Everton Together, was shopping nearby when he witnessed the ominous black smoke plumes rising above his community. He instantly knew the likely source. “It’s just a miracle that nobody’s been hurt,” he remarked. Despite Block D’s unfinished state, it had become a shelter for the homeless. “The way the place went up, someone asleep would never have got out.” Horrified but unsurprised, Kevin added, “We’ve been saying for years that something was going to happen. Either someone was going to fall off and break their neck, or it was going to go up in flames.”
Beneath the dramatic visuals of smoke and flames, the Fox Street Village fire exposed layers of loss and despair. To truly grasp the magnitude of the Fox Street Village failure and prevent similar disasters, one must delve into the history of its breakdown.
Everton’s Decline and the Promise of Regeneration
The story of Fox Street Village is inextricably linked to the broader narrative of Everton’s decline. Between 1971 and 1991, Everton’s population plummeted by 60%, mirroring the economic downturn that gripped Britain. As Liverpool’s once-bustling docks fell silent, major employers like Tate & Lyle and British American Tobacco closed their doors. Thousands of jobs vanished, dismantling communities that had thrived on global trade. Slum clearances, intended to improve living conditions in crumbling Victorian tenements, inadvertently fractured these communities, displacing families to new towns like Kirby, Runcorn, and Skelmersdale. This confluence of factors – economic hardship, social upheaval, and misguided urban planning – accelerated Everton’s decline. Margaret Thatcher’s policies further exacerbated the city’s struggles.
Standing on Fox Street today, the stark contrast is evident. Gleaming skyscrapers and modern penthouses in revitalized parts of Liverpool seem to halt abruptly as they approach Everton. Census data reveals Everton West, the location of Fox Street Village, as having the third-highest rate of children receiving free school meals in the city. The neighborhood also faces dire health statistics, including the city’s lowest life expectancy.
In recent decades, Liverpool’s burgeoning reputation as a student city led to a surge in student housing developments, seen as a quick fix for urban regeneration and a boost to Everton’s struggling economy. Fox Street Village emerged from this wave of development, adopting a controversial funding model known as ‘fractional sales’.
The Fractional Sales Failure
Fractional sales lured investors, often from overseas, with promises of strong rental yields and solid returns in exchange for upfront payments covering a significant portion of the purchase price. However, as numerous investors in stalled Liverpool projects discovered, this model offered little protection when developments faltered.
Fox Street Village Limited’s collapse into administration in 2019 left creditors owed £10 million and the city council nearly £700,000. The council confirmed an unpaid invoice exceeding half a million pounds, a debt now potentially falling to the new building owners. A staggering £6 million, intended for Block D, was diverted to fund an additional, fifth building in the scheme. Records show investors in Block D apartments spanned from Birkenhead to Beijing, all left in the lurch. Without funds to complete construction or settle debts, Block D’s steel frame and wooden internal walls remained exposed to the elements, a dangerous and decaying shell.
In 2020, Manchester-based SGL1 Limited acquired the site’s freehold for a reported £1.6 million. The site was then divided, and SGL3, a separate company with the same directors as SGL1, assumed control of the unfinished Block D. A series of complex legal battles ensued as investors fought to regain control and salvage the project. By 2021, architect’s renderings of Block D were rebranded as “Park View” and marketed to new buyers. Studios within the unfinished shell were advertised for £85,000. The extent of new investments and their protection remains unclear.
A History of Neglect and Danger
Chris Burridge, recalling his £135,000 three-bedroom apartment purchase, now reflects on the deal with grim irony: “With hindsight, almost too good to be true. I’ve been firefighting one problem after another since day one.” Visiting Fox Street Village in November 2023, his “monumental understatement” about Block D’s condition – “It doesn’t look that good” – belied the dangerous reality. “It would be funny, if it wasn’t so costly and dangerous.” He, along with other apartment owners, were grappling with an £80,000 bill for a transformer to safely restore electricity, a consequence of the developers’ “hot-wired connection.” This was just one in a series of alarming discoveries since residents moved in five years prior. “The biggest block, Block D, is just a shell that should have been finished years ago,” Chris explained. The promised amenities – a shared entrance, underground parking for 170 vehicles, shops, cinema room, communal laundry, and bike storage – were all absent. “What we’ve actually got are great apartments next to the rat-infested fire trap of a mess that is Block D.”
Indeed, rat infestations had been a long-standing complaint from residents, a concern I first reported on in April 2019 for ITV’s Granada Reports, in a story headlined “It’s a city’s most dangerous building but people are still allowed to live there”. Tenant Ross Lowey’s chillingly accurate prediction from that report, “Every time we come back round that corner, we expect to see flames coming out of it,” now echoed with tragic resonance.
Six months prior to that initial ITV report, in November 2018, my investigation into developers evading council payments took an unexpected turn. A whistleblower alerted me to an impending Prohibition Notice, the council’s drastic measure due to safety concerns. “Serious construction issues will contribute to the spread of fire,” the notice warned. “Fire will spread quickly and possibly unnoticed.” The completed blocks were deemed so hazardous that immediate evacuation was considered. Judge Lloyd later condemned the project as “disgraceful,” fining the developers a mere £3,120 for planning breaches, while expressing sympathy for affected residents and investors. Planning inspectors cited “poorly finished” construction and failures to meet standards, issues costing hundreds of thousands to rectify.
The council stated that compliance failures and deviations from approved plans only became apparent after construction was largely completed. A subsequent application for the missing car park resulted in a new agreement involving contributions to a cycle route and parking scheme, but planning approval was ultimately denied due to lack of payment.
Developer History and Regulatory Failures
Two companies were central to Fox Street Village: Linmari Construction Limited and Fox Street Village Limited, both directed by Gary Howard. In 2013, Howard became the sole director of Fox Street Student Halls Limited after Lee Carroll, his business partner, was forced to resign following a conviction as a gang master under labor exploitation laws. Carroll received a 12-year ban from company directorship. While no direct implications are drawn from Carroll’s past for Howard, it’s noted that six companies linked to Howard have County Court Judgements against them, and seven firms he helped manage, including two student residential developments in Liverpool, have entered administration with outstanding debts. Attempts to contact Mr. Howard for comment were unsuccessful.
Dr. Len Gibbs, whose doctoral research focused on Liverpool’s unfinished developments, argues, “The frameworks that are supposed to deliver safe buildings, protect their owners and keep those inside safe are not up to the job.” He outlined the two-stage regulatory process: planning consent and building control. Planning, overseen by the council, involves rigorous assessments and committee approvals. Building control, theoretically independent, monitors construction stages, ensuring adherence to regulations. Completion certificates are issued only upon full compliance, legally authorizing occupancy. In theory, this system should prevent occupation of unsafe buildings like Fox Street Village, yet residents moved in despite the evident dangers.
The council, when questioned, confirmed they used the Housing Act to ensure safety in occupied buildings. They also noted that the developers opted for a private approved inspector for building control instead of the city’s service.
“Seven years after the Grenfell disaster, we still have buildings bursting into flames,” Gibbs lamented. “Whilst it seems that no one was injured in this case, who knows what toxins have just been released onto the city?” He points to systemic issues in Liverpool, where weak enforcement and outdated company laws are exploited by developers, leaving ordinary citizens to bear the brunt. “It’s an utter disgrace and it continues to drag Liverpool’s name through the mud.” Gibbs advocates for stronger public protection and a shift in risk burden.
Systemic Issues and Past Failures
Building control issues in Liverpool are not new. As far back as 2008, problems surfaced at a Tuebrook flat complex where inspectors signed off on serious defects. Former Director of Regeneration, Nick Kavanagh, admitted at a council meeting that inspectors could no longer visit every site and instead relied on developers’ assurances. Kavanagh himself was later arrested in 2019 as part of a fraud investigation (Operation Aloft) and dismissed for gross misconduct unrelated to Fox Street Village. Austerity measures had diminished the council’s building control department, while private sector providers proliferated.
The council clarified they were not responsible for building control at Fox Street Village, leaving the responsible party unclear. Significant omissions, like the missing 170-space underground car park, raise serious questions about oversight and accountability. Who failed to notice such a major discrepancy, and who issued the completion certificate? The answer may lie with Stuart Robert Duffy, an architect previously investigated.
Certificates of Practical Completion require qualified professionals, sometimes including architects. Stuart Robert Duffy, a partner at KDP Architects, designed Fox Street Village and was a favored architect of developers, including Kerry Tomlinson of Prime Site Developments. Prime Site’s collapse in 2021 resulted in Tomlinson’s bankruptcy with £39 million liabilities. Investors in Prime Site’s Sky Building development in Stoke, another fractional sales scheme, claimed they were “ripped off.” Duffy, in a disciplinary hearing before his architect license was revoked, claimed he was “rescuing” the situation when he issued bogus completion certificates for the unfinished Sky Building, obligating buyers to pay the final 20% despite the building’s uninhabitability.
My investigation revealed Duffy had issued similar certificates for other unfinished projects. KDP Architects, also the designers of Fox Street Village, and Duffy’s signature appear on some Fox Street completion certificates. KDP has since gone into administration. Legal claims against their insurance will likely leave Fox Street buyers at the back of a long line. Despite initial responses, Mr. Duffy did not respond to further inquiries.
The Investors’ Fight and Lingering Questions
In November 2023, Samuel Ip traveled from Hong Kong to attend a High Court hearing, the latest in the Fox Street buyers’ fight for control of the site to complete the development. Meeting with Chris Burridge and myself near Block D, Samuel, a lawyer by training, recounted his “discouraging experience.” “I studied for my law degree in the UK and had every faith that the British system would protect my investment. That didn’t happen. Everything is broken, from the developer to the solicitors and administrators. We are the victims.” Samuel, who encouraged family and friends in Hong Kong to invest, believes the developer overextended themselves. “They had too many kettles and not enough lids. It could have been great if the developer had only delivered what they promised.”
Inside the converted Swainbanks warehouse, now the heart of the Village, Carolyn Delaney from Residence 365 described the transformation from a crime-ridden area to a community space. “There was limited CCTV and this place was full of drug dealers. We had prostitution and all sorts of criminality going on. Somebody was stabbed. It was just anti-social behaviour on a daily basis.” Chris and Samuel credit Delaney and her team for the positive changes. However, with external areas now back under Xenia Estates Limited’s purview, concerns about safety and security have resurfaced.
Documents indicate Xenia Estates Limited collected monthly service charges from leaseholders, intended for site safety and security, seemingly including Block D. Xenia Estates Limited, however, claimed their responsibility was limited to car parks and refuse collection. SGL3, controlling Block D, stated they acted responsibly and addressed safety concerns, citing planning application delays for hindering progress and refuting allegations of security lapses as “completely without merit.” The council confirmed ongoing negotiations with SGL3 before the fire, plans now needing review due to Block D’s condition.
SGL3 asserts the site has been insured since their takeover and they are cooperating with authorities investigating the fire. They disclaim responsibility for “illegal entry” leading to damage. A joint police and fire service investigation seeks to determine the fire’s cause and responsibility. Local accounts suggest suspicious individuals in balaclavas were seen prior to the fire, and potential video evidence is being investigated, though unconfirmed.
Kevin Robertson-Hale emphasizes Fox Street Village as a cautionary tale: “When developers get away with doing exactly what they want to do, this is what happens.” His observation is a stark warning, not mere hyperbole.
The Fox Street Village fire serves as a devastating symbol of systemic failures in urban development, regulation, and investor protection. It underscores the urgent need for stronger frameworks to ensure building safety, accountability, and prevent future tragedies in Liverpool and beyond.
