Liverpool Chamber of Commerce-And Its Invested Interests. What You Dont Know Can Harm You.

Is the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce now a Collective Spiv for Peel Holdings?

http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/07/liver-peel-conflicts-of-interest-begin.html

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce appoints top Peel surveyor to board

by Neil Hodgson, Liverpool Daily Post
May 3 2011
LIVERPOOL Chamber of Commerce has appointed a senior member of developer Peel’s team to its main board.
It will enable Peel development investment surveyor Ian Pollitt to forge closer links with the business community.
He said: “It is a great honour to be asked by the Chamber to join the main board, and I look forward to working closely with Chamber members over the coming years.
“These are both exciting and difficult times for the business community, and the Chamber is an increasingly important player.”
Liverpool Chamber chief executive Jack Stopforth said: “I am pleased to welcome Ian on to the board. The Chamber’s board prides itself on having many of the key business figures in Liverpool representing the city’s business community and Ian’s appointment will bring one of the city’s largest investors round the table to provide a valuable input into the Chamber’s management process.”
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-local/2011/05/03/liverpool-chamber-of-commerce-appoints-top-peel-surveyor-to-board-92534-28622154/


So the Chamber of Commerce that cant even add its own books up, the LCC the organisation that lost £750,000 last year  http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/rex-makin/2011/01/28/rex-makin-things-seem-a-bit-stormy-at-liverpool-chamber-of-commerce-100252-28069770/ is thought of as being a organisation responsible for Liverpools Regeneration............more like a group of vested interested individuals, dole-ing out European Objective One money to each other.
Here is the crew that are promoting themselves and now it appears Peel Holdings through the new appointment.

The Earl of Derby DL (President) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-12860942


Neil Scales (Chair) - Merseytravel http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/05/neil-scales-and-merseytravel-spend.html

Vincent Owen (Vice-Chair)

David Wade Smith  
http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/03/david-wade-smith-carping-on-with-same.html

Michael J Prince

Brian McCann

Dougal Paver

John Sutcliffe

Jack Stopforth - Chief Executive, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce
 http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/09/trevor-jones-and-hole-in-ground.html

The Earl of Derby is on the board....whats his interest then? He was a trustee of NML when they decided to build the new Carbuncle in the WHS.............and what else is he connected with, lets see, Oh the proposals for Hatchfields Farm  http://www.historicnewmarket.co.uk/lord-derbys-disingenuous-statements.html where it is said Lord Derby’s statements on his proposed Hatchfield Farm Development 26th January 2010 despite a campaign against it called save historic Newmarket. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/01/13/get-on-board-liverpool-cruise-campaign-banked-by-earl-of-derby-92534-27977844/


Lord Derby at last came clean with the real reason for his plans to develop Hatchfield Farm last week in the Evening Standard (20th January). Save Historic Newmarket has been concerned since Lord Derby’s plans to develop Hatchfield Farm have come into the public domain that a number of statements have been made which are misleading.
Lord Derby is obtaining planning permission purely for financial reasons and does not as he says he has have the best interests of the racing industry at heart and a strong desire to deliver the government affordable housing targets. In the Evening Standard on 20th January: “Asked about his motives for the scheme, Lord Derby said’ Clearly Inheritance tax takes quite a hold on things, we have spent the past 15 years trying to improve the estate and clearly I carry quite a debt burden at the moment.”
Despite Lord Derby’s continual assurances that it is better to have a developer who understands racing, it has become clear after in depth studying of his planning application that he intends to sell Hatchfield Farm once he obtains permission:
Daily Telegraph, 18th December, Lord Derby is quoted saying: “And I would argue that it is far better to have someone who understands racing and its concerns working on this development than someone with no interest at all.”
On page 7, para 12.1 of this document (http://fhdcrw.onesuffolk.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D602021A-0C11-434C-8586-18229E298CEC/0/HSM85830.pdf)  contained within the 17-box planning application submitted by Lord Derby’s consultants to Forest Heath District in December , there was a line that indicates that Lord Derby will not be the developer but will sell Hatchfield Farm with planning permission to a developer.
“12.1 It is only possible to speak on behalf of Lord Derby and the Hatchfield Farm site. In this case, a planning application will be submitted shortly and it is envisaged that planning permission could be granted later in 2010, after the adoption of the Core Strategy. This will allow the site to be brought to the market in 2010/2011. For those reasons, the recession has had no impact on the delivery programme for Hatchfield Farm.”
Prior to the submission of his application, Lord Derby had publicly implied that the application was purely a housing development and had not raised the fact he was also intending it to be a significant mixed use commercial development. As well as 1,200 dwellings, the application comprises an 80 bedroom hotel, 27,000 square metres of offices, a cinema, restaurants,bars and retain outlets and a park and ride facility.
These will significantly increase all the traffic issues around Fordham road, where over 1,000 horses cross the roads daily and the urbanisation of rural Newmarket resulting in the demise of the town as HQ of racing. A summary of his application can be found on: http://www.historicnewmarket.co.uk/timetable-and-planning-application.html
Rachel Hood, Chair of Save Historic Newmarket said:
“Lord Derby has continually insisted that his motives are to help the government achieve its affordable housing targets and that he has insisted that he is the best developer for Newmarket as he is part of the racing industry. We have always disputed his “philanthropic” rationale and his developer credentials and plans. We are now clear that his motives are purely financial and he has no intention of being the developer - he plans to sell Hatchfield Farm once he has planning permission.
“I urge all residents of Newmarket to join Save Historic Newmarket Action Group in our efforts to stop this disastrous development for our town. Please come to the Newmarket Town Hall meeting on 1st February and sign our petition at http://www.historicnewmarket.co.uk/petition.html. ”

He is also on board the Cruise Liner Campaign which ensures he stays sweet with the local press


Neil Scales, Chairman http://www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/board-of-directors.html Self styled....Director General of Miserytravel. His resume goes.

Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General Merseytravel, which promotes an integrated transport network responsible for 300 million passenger journeys per year by train, bus, ferries and through the Mersey Tunnels - which provide cross river links 365 days a year.
Merseytravel, which controls assets of £1 billion, owns and operates the Mersey Tunnels. It is also the franchising body for the Merseyrail Electrics Concession and is unique in controlling a 25 year franchise for the locally controlled railway, managed on a devolved basis, with a record for delivering high quality service, running trains to 67 stations across the region.
Merseytravel also owns and operates the famous Mersey Ferries and associated tourism attractions, contributing more than £34 million a year to the region's tourism economy.
Under Neil Scales' leadership Merseytravel has been transformed into an award-winning learning organisation with the establishment of Merseylearn, a leader in its field and is the first PTA/PTE to achieve the ISO 14001
Before joining Merseytravel Neil Scales was an independent transport and engineering consultant working for the World Bank on projects across Europe. Educated at a technical school, he has a BSc in engineering, an MSc in Control Engineering and Computer systems, an MBA and is a Fellow of the three major engineering institutions.
Neil is Chair of pteg, the organisation that represents PTEs in England to government and is the elected President of European Platform on Mobility Management (EPOMM) which are a network of governments in European countries that are engaged in mobility management. Amongst his other responsibilities, he chairs ACT TravelWise which promotes sustainable travel, is a board member of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and until recently, after nine years Chaired ITSO, the Integrated Smartcard Organisation
He was elected Chair of Liverpool Chamber in 2010
Now we are not saying anything is being carried out that is wrong, but............
What is a unelected public servant such as Herr Director N eel Scales, doing sitting with all these business people at the Chamber........someone needs to take a long hard look at the cosy relationship that is being played out right before your very eyes and ask Is this a conflict of Interests?
He should be getting the buses to run in time shouldnt he?

This is what he said in a letter to the Liverpool Daily Post
 
Full support

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/views/letters-to-editor/2011/02/28/worrying-changes-to-neptune-plans-92534-28246559/
LIVERPOOL Chamber of Commerce would like to extend our full support for the Liverpool Waters initiative. In light of the current recession and imminent public sector cuts, we are pleased to see the private sector drawing up this ambitious road map to the future.
Peel Holdings recently made a presentation to Chamber members, explaining the full scale and ambition of the project, the focus on local job creation and the visual impact of the development.

Following the meeting, several members cited examples of waterfronts that successfully marry the old with the new, including Copenhagen, Philadelphia, Vancouver and Seattle.
We would like to encourage Peel to be even bolder in its design aspirations for both building height and design.
Many of our members also made the trip to the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 and understand the global value of a spectacular waterfront. Liverpool’s waterfront is magnificent, and any development planned for the next generation must ensure that it remains an iconic symbol of great design and heritage for the future.
This project, we believe, has the potential to be a world-class exemplar of a modern waterfront city weaving around the historical footprint.
On the issue of heritage, we are pleased to note that Peel intend to bring the historic and architecturally interesting Jesse Hartley Clock back into use.
We would also recommend the approach adopted by Liverpool One, who implemented a policy of integration with the city by restoring all of the historical links to the old dock.
We would urge members of the region’s business community who wish to see Liverpool regain its rightful place as a world-class city, and see it prosper throughout the twenty-first century, to make their support known to both Peel and Liverpool City Council.

Neil Scales OBE, MSc, MBA, C Eng, Chairman, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce


David Wade Smith said all the same shit about Mann Island that decimated the World Heritage Site  http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/views/letters-to-editor/2011/02/28/worrying-changes-to-neptune-plans-92534-28246559/ and guess what he was the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce at the time.

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce...............Are they Spivs for Peel Holdings.