Council issues CPO after Liverpool station rubble closure

Liverpool Lime Street Station (Credit: Network Rail)

Liverpool City Council has issued a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on a land owner whose wall collapsed and slipped onto the city’s Lime Street station, blocking the line for more than a week after more than 200 tonnes of rubble fell onto the track.

Work is still being carried out at the station to repair the damage from the landslip in March, with mainline trains currently diverting to Liverpool South Parkway.

The CPO has been issued on property across Elm Grove and Smithdown Lane following the blockage, which caused major disruption in the area and affected hundreds of commuters.

Anwar Hadi Kassim, the owner of the land, has until October 27 to object to the local authority.

It is believed that if it’s successful, the land will be used to build a car park for Paddington Village in the Knowledge Quarter for the city.

The Knowledge Quarter is a £1bn development creating a science and health hub modelled on Greenwich Village in New York.

The site was the subject of council enforcement action over dangerous storage practices in 2012.

Mr Kassim, who is 73, has been the director of Wirral-based company A K Sims, for 16 years.

The closure of Liverpool Lime Street for seven days in March is likely to have had an impact on the city’s economy as a result of the disruption.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close