Council 'sorry' over misleading public on town market

Wirral Council misled the public over information it released about plans for Birkenhead Market, a 20-month investigation has found.

Eight allegations against council officers and one councillor were internally investigated but the report's findings said they did "not warrant the council making a referral for further investigation by the police".

The allegations are related to previous as well as current plans for a new Birkenhead Market in the town centre.

The council said its current regeneration director, Marcus Shaw, who joined the local authority in 2023, had apologised over incorrect information being given about market rents in 2021.

The council is planning to move the market to the former Argos store in the Pyramids Shopping Centre but the proposal has sparked debate among traders.

A complaint was made by a Birkenhead Market trader, on behalf of the Birkenhead Market Tenants Association (BMTA), in April 2023, as well as further concerns raised in November 2023 and March 2024.

Alan Featherstone, who is understood to be "T1" referred to in the report, said there was a "hidden scheme to reduce the number of market stall holders, putting the market into a managed decline," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This prompted an investigation by the local authority's internal audit team in October 2023.

It found responses from the council claiming rents for vacant units were not increased was misleading, with "an unwillingness to publicly state that vacant rents were increased in November 2021" because it may have led to rent reduction requests from some other traders.

The report found opportunities were missed to be transparent and there was a lack of consistency in historic rent levels.

Auditors have urged the council to review vacant rents within a month, with rates made public going forward.

The local authority said: "The action plan outlines measures to ensure greater transparency in the future, better record-keeping following a planned review, and ensuring Birkenhead Market rental policy and rent levels are transparent and available to the public [and] market traders."

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