No heating or hot water for residents at HMO in illegally converted hotel

The property was hit with a prohibition order after a safety inspection

Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Southport Lead.

When a struggling hotel was converted into HMOs without permission, its owners failed to get a licence or planning permission - both of which were legally required. As a result, it took years for authorities to find out that inhabited homes failed to meet basic requirements and that some residents were living without adequate heating or any hot water supply.

Details of the case have finally been made public following the property owner’s failed appeal against a prohibition order which stopped anyone from living there.

The Southport Lead marks its one-year anniversary in January so to celebrate we’re offering 30% off monthly and annual subscriptions for the entire month. That means you can get an annual subscription for just £34.30 or pay £3.49 a month, a little more than the cost of two hours’ parking in Southport town centre. Use this link to take advantage of the offer.

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Southport briefing

🚜 Diggers are being used to remove invasive Sea Buckthorn and Birch scrub as part of the latest stage of winter dune management work at Ainsdale Local Nature Reserve. Work has begin in an area south of the Pontins site to the south of Shore Road and, according to Green Sefton, will improve the quality of low-lying slack areas, opening up a landscape currently swamped with invasive scrub. It has been been made possible through the DEFRA-funded Countryside Stewardship Scheme and is carried out by Green Sefton using contractors and core staff.

💉 Parents and carers in Southport are being urged to ensure their children receive a chickenpox vaccine as part of a new immunisation programme. As of this month, GP practices are offering a universal vaccination which protects against chickenpox (also known as varicella), with the previous MMR vaccine replaced by a MMRV one. Dr Rory McGill, Sefton Council’s Interim Director of Public Health said: “Many of us remember chickenpox as a few days off school, feeling a little unwell, and trying our best not to scratch those incredibly itchy spots. For most, it’s a mild illness, but for some it can be very serious, which can lead to hospitalisation. Babies, young children and adults can be affected and in some rare and tragic cases, it can be fatal. I would encourage all parents and carers to take up the MMRV immunisation when offered it. It’s the most effective and safest way to protect your child against the potentially serious effects of chickenpox as well as those of measles, mumps and rubella”.

📢 Sefton residents are being invited to help create more inclusive through the Inclusive and Accessible Streets Forum. The forum has been set up to help Sefton Council work with residents around issues of inclusion and accessibility and aims to raise awareness of issues which affect people using using the streets and consider if services are working well. The forum meets every three months, with the next meeting on Wednesday 28th January, to show and talk about plans and ideas for the transport and highway improvements in Sefton. To get involved, make a request to become a member using the sign-up form on Your Sefton Your Say.

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Residents of unlicensed HMO had no heating, windows or hot water

The former Nile Hotel. Pic: The Southport Lead

By Jamie Lopez

A former hotel which was turned into an unlicensed HMO where residents did not have adequate heating or hot water was hit with a prohibition order.

The Nile Hotel, which sits next to the historic Cheshire Lines pub on King Street, closed down in 2017 and was later converted into bedsits without permission and became a frequent source of complaints over drug use and other criminal activity.

Most seriously, a man was arrested after a woman reported being raped inside the property in December 2023.

The buildings, which span 69-73 King Street, were first erected as three separate houses but converted into a hotel in 2001 and was most commonly known as The Nile Hotel. While its name seemingly alludes to the river which once ran through what is now the town centre and Birkdale, the hotel instead had a very different theme. Among its offerings were an Egyptian style lounge with adjoining cocktail bar, what was described as an “elegant walled garden with Moroccan mosaic fountain”.