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Latest News: Trust appoints new Chair and Trustees

Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust appoints new chair and board members to accelerate the delivery of new schemes

Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust (MBPT), first established in Liverpool in 1988, is ushering in a new era after appointing a new chair and welcoming two new board members to the team.

The trust is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run charity that supports not for profit organisations and other public sector bodies to rescue at-risk heritage buildings across Merseyside, acting in an advisory capacity to future-proof and find new uses for historic local assets.

The organisation has been integral to the redevelopment of a number of local landmarks, including The Florrie in Dingle, a Grade II-listed community arts and heritage venue, which opened in 1889 as The Florence Institute for Boys and reopened to the public in 2017 following its restoration.

Since the 1990s, MBPT has also facilitated urban regeneration projects in the Georgian Quarter, including the redevelopment of 72 and 100 Huskisson Street, two Grade II-listed residential properties, and projects on Mount Pleasant and Shaw Street, for which the trust led on feasibility studies for the restoration of two historic sites.

Steve Power has been appointed as chair of the trust, bringing with him over 30 years of experience in regeneration, having previously served as Development Director for the Ropewalks Partnership Initiative, delivering key projects such as FACT and Tea Factory, and more recently with Liverpool City, Oldham and Sefton Councils.

Joining the MBPT board are Pete Hoey and Dave Levitt. Pete has worked with the MBPT and brings extensive experience in the conservation design and advice sector, and Dave arrives with global experience in the resources sector from across Europe, America, and Asia.

The refreshed board continues to support urban heritage regeneration projects including the Wellington Rooms and former Welsh Presbyterian Church. The collective experience of the board of trustees will be leveraged to consult on the regeneration of these sites, alongside other at-risk heritage buildings on Merseyside.

Steve Power, Chair of the Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust, commented:

“I’m very pleased to be leading the Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust into a new era as Chair of the Board, working alongside an esteemed line-up of colleagues from across the public and private sector real estate professions to preserve the rich architectural heritage of our city region.

“I’ve been a board member for over 10 years now and have seen first-hand the fantastic work that we can do when we work in partnership. We have over 2,500 listed buildings in Liverpool and protecting them for future generations needs to be a top priority for developers and local and regional authorities.

“As we welcome new trustees to the board, the team at MBPT looks forward to continuing to combine our decades of regeneration experience with our passion for preservation, as we continue to work with existing and new partners to bring some of the city region’s most historic properties back to life for the benefit of our communities.”

Mr Peter Hoey

Mr Peter Hoey
Trustee

Peter Hoey has worked as a Building Conservation Officer for over 30 years. During that time Peter has provided conservation advice for four local authorities, Wrekin, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough, Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council and Liverpool City Council. At Liverpool, this included managing grants for the regeneration of Ropewalks buildings and buildings at risk. Peter has been a member of the historic Churches Committee advising the catholic dioceses of Liverpool, Shrewsbury, Salford and Lancaster and is a full member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Mr David Levitt

Mr David Levitt
Trustee

David is a native of Liverpool, currently living with his wife in a Liverpool Grade II listed building. Educated at John Moores University with a degree in Town & Country Planning. and whilst working briefly as a trainee at the planning department of the London Borough of Lambeth, he has spent the last 48 years in the commercial world of magazine publishing and conference organizing being a director of his own company.

David has maintained a lifelong interest in both the natural and built environment with a particular appreciation of buildings with a historical and architectural heritage and the need for preservation and restoration where appropriate and is a member of English Heritage and the National Trust.

Latest News: Welsh Church

Latest News: Welsh Church

Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust has confirmed the sale of the much-loved former Welsh Presbyterian Church, in Princes Road, Liverpool 8 to Audsley Holdings Limited.

Since acquiring the Church in 2013 from Liverpool City Council, the Trust has worked to secure the future of the building through progressing proposals with organisations in order to preserve the buildings by bringing them back into use for the benefit of the Merseyside region.

The Trust had worked with Baltic Creative to create a creative industries hub in the Church for the benefit of Liverpool 8 entrepreneurs. Sadly this project failed because of the withdrawal of European Regional Development Funding and as a result of BREXIT. Most recently the Trust has worked in partnership with KIND, a locally based children’s charity, to progress proposals for use as a cultural and heritage centre, a low environmental impact centre for learning and excellence, as well as a new home for KIND.

The Trust successfully worked with KIND to secure a stage 1 National Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £260,000 to develop scheme proposals and submit a planning application for the site. In addition, the Trust completing a series of site tidy ups, facilitated survey works in addition to securing the site perimeter. Planning permission and listed building consent for scheme proposals to put the building back into the heart of the community as a low carbon, cultural, specialist education and heritage was granted in March 2022. However, despite securing an in-principle stage 2 grant approval from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, additional funding bids to Central Government that were required for scheme delivery were not supported. As a result, sadly the scheme had to be reluctantly abandoned.

Following the unfortunate funding news and subsequent withdrawal from the project by KIND, the Trust set out to identify a locally based organisation who could develop and deliver sympathetic proposals for the site. Subsequently, in Summer 2022, the site was sold to Audsley Holdings Limited, a locally based organisation, who are in the process of developing scheme proposals to bring the site back into active use.

Steve Power, Chair of the Trust, commented “Whilst it is extremely disappointing that funding support was not forthcoming for the magnificent KIND scheme, we wish Audsley Holdings every success in working to secure the necessary funding and statutory approvals required to deliver a scheme that will secure the future of this much-loved local landmark.”

Mr CD Green

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Mr CD Green
Trustee

Colin graduated from Liverpool Polytechnic in 1983 with a degree in Urban Estate Management and commenced what was to be a long career in property management and development with Liverpool City Council. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1986. During his time at the Council, he worked on a range of property related matters including management acquisitions, disposals and latterly regeneration and development.

He managed the Project Jennifer scheme in north Liverpool almost from its inception to its eventual completion 14 years later having steered it through legal challenges, a public inquiry and the 2007 financial crisis. Other projects Colin has been involved in include the Liverpool International Garden Festival site, the regeneration of the former ‘Boot Estate’ in Norris Green and new industrial development at Stonebridge Business Park on the East Lancs Road. Colin took early retirement from the Council in February 2017.

Mr S Power

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Mr S Power
Chair

Steve was educated in Liverpool and has a Town Planning Degree and Postgraduate Diploma from the Liverpool Polytechnic School of Architecture and Town Planning, and an MBA from Liverpool University. Steve has 40 years of regeneration experience in management and delivery roles in Metropolitan Councils/public-private partnerships, and private sector consultancy.

Following three years in London, in the mid-80s, he worked in Merseyside for Knowsley Council, leading on town centre regeneration projects, and Bootle Maritime City Challenge including the expansion of Liverpool Freeport with Mersey Docks.

Steve was also Development Director for the Ropewalks Partnership Initiative delivering key projects such as FACT, Tea Factory, Campbell Square and the Chinese Arch in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool.

More recently Steve has worked for Liverpool City Council as Assistant Director for Housing Development, securing the City’s Strategic Housing Partner and the City’s Affordable Housing Programme. Also working in private consultancy, Steve has been involved in delivering regeneration projects for Liverpool, Anglesey, Conwy, and latterly Oldham Councils. Steve has also lectured at Liverpool John Moores University in Commercial Property Development. Steve has recently retired as Strategic Lead for Regeneration and Development at Sefton Council.

Professor J Belchem

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Professor J Belchem
Trustee

John is a former Professor of History at the University of Liverpool where he taught from 1980, roles also included Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Pro-Vice Chancellor. John has published extensively on modern British social and political history, Irish immigration and ethnicity. John edited the Liverpool 800 published by the University of Liverpool press, also Merseyside: Essays in Exceptionalism, and Irish, Catholic and Scouse. His latest book, co-edited with Bryan Biggs, examines the transformation of the Bluecoat, the oldest building in Liverpool City Centre, into the UK’s first Arts Centre.

Miss HE Summers

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Miss HE Summers
Trustee

A Solicitor at Excello Law in Liverpool. Alongside work in the corporate and commercial law sector, Heather has experience of all aspects of commercial property and charity law having acted for numerous charitable organisations on a local and national level during her career. She has led, on a number of occasions, major capital projects involving her various disciplines. As a Board Member of Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust, Heather was one of the team that started The Florence Institute project, and advised on all legal aspects of the capital project including co-ordination of the property acquisition, implementing the complex VAT consultant’s advice on user and occupations. Heather has also seen the Welsh Presbyterian Church project through from board discussion, acquisition, VAT advice to current position on funding.

Professor S Holloway

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Professor S Holloway
Trustee

Stephen graduated from Leicester University with a PhD in Theoretical Solid-State Physics in 1976, working in the field of gas-surface dynamics. He spent six years in continental Europe working in universities in Berlin, Copenhagen and Gothenburg. He joined the University of Liverpool in 1984 as a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry under the direction of Sir David King. He was part of the team that founded the UK Surface Science Centre of Excellence in 1988 and was their Head of Theory until 2000. Stephen’s activities in the university were split equally into two parts – undertaking scientific research and teaching as his primary activities from 1984 until 2000 when he became Head of the Chemistry Department. Stephen also served in this management role for seven years after which he became (in succession) the Dean of Science (2007), the Dean of Science and Engineering (2008), The Executive Pro-Vice Chancellor (2012) and finally the Provost (2013). He retired from the university in 2015.

Mr JR Flamson

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Mr JR Flamson
OBE DL
Trustee

John was one of the senior directors of the University of Liverpool from 2008, linking it with international, political and business market places. He has BA (Honours) Geography and Master of Civic Design degrees and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Retired Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He started his professional life as a town planner, and his planning career included numerous posts with West Lancashire District Council, Merseyside County Council, Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Development Corporation, involving him in numerous regeneration initiatives in testing political and economic environments in the 1970s and 1980s.

During his time with Merseyside Development Corporation, he contributed to the re-emergence of the Merseyside waterfronts as commercial and visitor destinations, including iconic developments at Albert Dock and the International Garden Festival. His work in the 1980s was focused on city centre development, economic growth and public policy, as Director of Liverpool City Challenge, and Chief Executive of Wigan Borough Partnership. As a Deputy Regional Director of Government Office for the North West, John oversaw the huge European Investments into Merseyside from 2000, which continue to have a significant impact on the renaissance of the region.

Since retirement he has remained active as an Honorary Fellow of the University of Liverpool’s Heseltine Institute of Public Policy, Practice & Place, a Member of the Investment Panel for Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority and as a Deputy Lieutenant in the County of Merseyside, all of which keeps him engaged in the area’s civic life.