Restaurant boss who "led by example" given 10 year ban
Plus: Council challenges house-building targets and sexual assault charity funding crisis
Hello and welcome to the 69th edition of The Lancashire Lead. Tuesday saw me attend the opening day of the public inquiry into Blackpool Council’s attempt to compulsorily purchase homes it wants to demolish to make way for its Multiversity development.
The public inquiry is a legal requirement which will give those objecting to losing their homes the chance to argue against it and potentially force a stunning reversal of the plans.
Day one saw the council outline the reasoning behind its plans and why it is necessary for revitalising the town’s fortunes and tackling problems such as deprivation and high unemployment rates.
You can read more about that in today’s edition of The Blackpool Lead and coverage is planned for the rest of the inquiry so sign up here to make sure you receive future editions.
Away from Blackpool, this edition brings to the story of the director of a chain of upmarket restaurants who has been sanctioned after abusing the government-backed Bounce Back Loan scheme which was designed to help small and medium businesses survive the pandemic.
There’s also a desperate plea for help from a charity which helps sexual abuse but now faces a funding crisis which could see it close down; a Lancashire council’s opposition to new house building targets; and accusations that a hospital trust ran down a vital facility in order to force its closure.
According to the glowing biography on the website for the Olive Tree Brasserie chain of restaurants, the success of the restaurant’s staff is attributed to founder and director Dean Wilson’s “commitment to leading by example”.
Proudly vouching for his vegan and environmentally-friendly credentials, the website explains how Wilson opened his first Greek restaurant in St Annes 2007, with a Preston site following in Miller Arcade in 2014.
The success continued and a Chester branch followed in 2016 and two years later there was another Lancashire site in Lytham (replacing the St Annes one) and a second Cheshire site in Stockton Heath.
But while all those boasts and about ethics and success remain online, Wilson now finds himself banned from running businesses for more than a decade.
The 39-year-old was handed the ban by the Insolvency Service after being caught abusing the Bounce Back Loan scheme at the company’s set up for each of the four restaurants.
The BBL scheme was set up during the pandemic to help small and medium businesses survive loss of trade caused by lockdown and social distancing measures and allowed firms to receive a low-interest loan of up to £50,000.
This came with conditions including only being able to take a loan from one provider and only using the money for genuine business needs, with the money lent by high street banks and backed by the Government to reduce risk to directors. As a result, huge sums have been left liable to the taxpayer as a result of loans which were never repaid and often fraudulently claimed.
That is certainly the case for Wilson, of Chandlers Rest, Lytham St Annes, and his four Olive Tree Brasserie companies.
In each case, Wilson successfully applied for a legitimate BBL on May 4 or 5, receiving the money in a matter of days. For the Lytham business, a second - and illegitimate - application was made days later, while the same followed for the other three businesses on June 30. Each time, he falsely declared no other application had been made for the same business.
In the meantime, Wilson had already moved significant sums of money from the companies’ accounts into personal ones.
According to the Insolvency Service, he transferred almost £200,000 into his own accounts with no evidence provided that this was done for the benefit of the businesses involved.
In August 2021, less than six weeks after the second £50,000 loan was paid to the Olive Tree Brasserie Preston Ltd, Wilson announced the closure of that restaurant. On the venue’s Facebook page, he wrote:
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the sudden closure of our beloved Olive Tree Brasserie restaurant in Preston. Our other landlords have been great and supported us through the challenges that the restaurant industry has faced due to covid. However, after a difficult 18 months, the ongoing negotiations with our Preston Landlord have sadly come to a disappointing end.
“We would like to thank all of our loyal customers, many of whom have enjoyed the brand over many years as well as our dedicated Preston team for all their hard work and passion in making the Olive Tree Brasserie Preston experience one to remember.
“Thankfully all Preston staff members are keeping their jobs and will be working at our Lytham restaurant. Our Lytham, Stockton Heath & Chester restaurants remain unaffected and are open as usual. We want to assure you that the Olive Tree Brand is stronger than ever and we have an exciting future ahead.”
Since then, a further brasserie has opened under the same name in Leeds but as a result of the sanction Wilson can no longer be involved in running the businesses.
Staying in Preston, the city’s council is facing a very unexpected legal challenge from another local authority some 200 miles away. The Bureau of Investigate Journalism reports that Essex-based Thurrock Council is considering suing 23 councils for a total of £50m over disastrous investments which led to it going bankrupt.
Preston City Council is among those facing a potential £2m liability if the action goes ahead as Thurrock tries to recover some of the public money it lost through investments in solar farms.
A total of £200m was lost through the investments and Thurrock has accused Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) - which is made up of members including 250 local authorities - of overvaluing the solar farms. Rather than suing the entire group, which strongly denies the accusations, a sample of 23 councils has been selected.
A spokesperson for Preston City Council said:
“Preston City Council is extremely disappointed by the current legal threat by Thurrock Borough Council to recover sums it alleges it has lost as part of its investment in solar farms. This is a case that has been ongoing for some time and Preston City Council vigorously defends its position as a member of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) which is a not-for-profit, unincorporated association.
“Preston City Council is taking legal advice in respect of its position and is playing an active role in ongoing discussions with fellow members.”
A charity which operates to offers support to victims and survivors of sexual abuse, sexual violence, or rape is facing potential closure unless £500,000 can be raised in the next four months.
Trust House Lancashire operates to help victim in deal with their trauma, which often involves long-lasting mental health issues. Those helped by the charity often find life can be a constant struggle and its work contributes to reducing self-harm and suicidal thoughts; managing depression, anxiety, and stress; and improving sleep and reducing trauma symptoms like flashbacks and panic attacks
The charity received an average of three new referrals per day over the last year, with the youngest victim aged just four-years-olds. Despite the importance of its work, the funding crisis places Trust House Lancashire at risk of closure and a fundraising bid has been launched - you can visit the Crowdfunder page here to contribute.
Appealing for help, the charity said:
Becoming a victim of sexual abuse, sexual violence or rape can lead to mental health issues that can last a lifetime and day to day living can be a challenge for the clients that we see.
Our work improves mental health by reducing self-harm, reducing suicidal thoughts, managing depression, managing anxiety and stress, improving sleep and reducing trauma symptoms such as flashbacks and panic attacks.
These victims and survivors need our help, they need us to be here for them in their most desperate times of need.
We need to raise £500,000 by 31st March 2025 to be able to keep our doors open and offering services to victims and survivors of sexual abuse, sexual violence or rape in Lancashire.
Another charity battling its own funding crisis is Eggcup - which stops surplus food from going to waste and gets it to people in Lancaster and Morecambe instead. The Lancaster Guardian reports that the charity is in danger of closing unless £80k can be raised.
West Lancashire Borough Council has registered its opposition to the government’s plans for a dramatic increase in house building targets. The local authority’s official response to the government’s National Planning Policy Framework proposals raises concerns over the borough’s capacity to take on the extra homes being suggested.
Authored by Strategic Planning Manager Tom McGowan and formally backed by councillors, it also raises fears over the possibility of infrastructure and facilities being able to keep up with the associated population increase. The response states:
“The proposed method represents an unrealistically high, undeliverable and unachievable housing need figure for West Lancashire Borough Council. The housing market does not have capacity to accommodate 600+ dwellings per year, either through supply or demand, and the associated infrastructure requirements will be unwieldy and local and national infrastructure providers will not be able to keep pace with the demand for infrastructure arising from such high levels of housing growth.
“In addition, there is no acknowledgement of the impact of the increased housing need figures on demand for jobs in the area and where those businesses will be located; this could lead to increased out-commuting placing further pressure on the local and regional road network and the environment.
“The proposed method does not take into account demographic need and the presence of households to occupy the new properties. The proposed method does not take into account nationally important agricultural land quality which is central to driving economic growth in the region and reducing associated food miles; the agricultural economy within the Borough is a national resource which must be protected at all costs and setting very high housing targets for the Borough will encourage landowners to disinvest in their land and sell it to house-builders for immediate profit.
“This is unsustainable and will have significantly adverse effects on the local economy and the villages that rely on the agricultural economy. The NPPF's focus on delivering housing is at the cost of other uses such as employment, food production, healthcare and town centres.”
By Bill Jacobs
East Lancashire health bosses have been accused of deliberately running down Accrington Victoria Hospital to force its closure regardless of its impact on the ‘carnage’ of Royal Blackburn accident and emergency waiting times.
The allegations came from Labour councillors Paul Cox and Andrew Clegg as Hyndburn Council resolved to write to new health secretary Wes Streeting urging him to block the closure of the community health hub.
Its full meeting on Thursday passed a motion calling on the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) to pause its plan to shut the 30-year-old hospital. Last month the trust announced it was to shut Accrington Victoria Hospital because of safety fears.
Cllr Cox and Cllr Clegg said the closure had been rushed through by the trust which had vans emptying the building within days of the announcement. ELHT has said the hospital in Haywood Road, was in a “critical condition” and “beyond repair” but that main services would remain in the town for local people. Cllr Clegg said:
“Our hospital has been systematically allowed to decay. The closure had been rushed put us on the back foot. Everything has been shipped out.
“What is the impact of this closure going to be on the carnage that is the Royal Blackburn A and E department? What is it going to do to waiting times there?
“We need a fully functioning hospital. The Royal Blackburn is broken.”
The council’s Conservative group leader Cllr Zak Khan said his group fully supported the motion, while Cllr Marlene Haworth, his predecessor in the job, reiterated that “this town needs a hospital.” The authority’s Labour leader Cllr Munsif Dad said:
“Accrington Victoria is hugely important. We need to put pressure on ELHT to keep GP surgery, minor injuries unit and X-ray department so we don’t lose it’s vital services in the long run.”
In response, Chief Executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Martin Hodgson said repeated apologies for the move away from Accrington Victoria but said the building was beyond repair. He continued:
“Despite investing millions in the building over its 130 year history, large parts of the building are closed, the roof has collapsed in a number of places, it’s full of asbestos and the heating system originally fired by three boilers is down to one, which if it fails simply cannot be repaired. It is dangerous to remain there as we run up to winter and, sadly, the building no longer provides the kind of environment we need for patients or our teams. New problems and risks to colleagues and patients are being reported daily.
“Local people do not need to be concerned about losing services. We have made and will honour a commitment that the four main services currently provided at Accrington Victoria will remain just a short distance away at either Accrington PALS in the town centre, Holly House or Acorns in Blackburn Road. Those services are the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), X-Ray, Outpatients and GP services delivered by PWE Healthcare. But until they move, all patient services are still available as normal at Accy Vic.
“Some colleagues who use the site as an office base only have already moved and we are working to relocate other services as quickly as we can to ensure there is minimal disruption to patients and their care and we are working with colleagues across the local authority and wider health and social care system to do this together and provide as much information as we can.”
🚨 The family of a man who died while serving a prison sentence have raised concerns about the healthcare he received while in custody (LancsLive).
🌳 A raft of new and refurbished sports facilities are set to be installed in a Preston park as part of a £3.2m revamp (Blog Preston).
😔 The owners of a 54-year-old pet supply shop in Clitheroe have warned it could close next year due to falling sales (Lancashire Telegraph).
🎥 Heysham 2 power station is the focal point of a new documentary providing an access-all-areas peek into nuclear power generation (Lancaster Guardian).
🏞️ £6.8m is being spent to protect endangered eels and elvers in the River Lune (LancsLive).
Thanks for taking the time to read Edition 69 of The Lancashire Lead. If you enjoyed it, please share so others can find it too and subscribe to receive future editions. I’ll be back with the next issue on Sunday.
