WLBRL INVESTIGATION- A COMPLEX WEB OF DIRTY BUSINESS DEALS
For some time, I have been aware and monitoring two companies by the name of “Rattlechain Redevelopments Ltd” and “Coneygre Redevelopments Limited”– these directly relate to land interests off site of Rattlechain lagoon- The former Duport’s Tip and surrounding East of Rose Lane, and also the land off the Coneygree Road open space in Tipton- both a part of the ludicrous “garden city” proposals in the “Dudley Port Supplementary Planning” Document and now “The Sandwell Local Plan”.
These two sites are directly linked in that they were for a substantial period used as foundry sand graveyards by the company “Mintworth” , formerly Birlee Industrial Ltd, and often by many other aliases by The Hurst family.
Mintworth were responsible for the former Severn Trent Water sewage works development, now Callaghan and Wilson Drives and the unfolding “misery” of a ten year operation that was supposedly only going to last two.
It is apparent that for many years, the principal driver of Mintworth in all its forms was John S Hurst, not to be confused with his Son, John L J Hurst, or JH Jnr. Unfortunately, The Black Country Development Corporation officers were unable to see through the sandcastle piles in the early 1990’s with the grand proposals for the sewage works and surrounding land. Indeed the bogus Cremer and Warner report conducted at Rattlechain lagoon was devised because it was coveted as a major dumping pit for extra profit. Thank God this never transpired because the chemical waste is totally incompatible with infilling it with foundry sand, and this will never change. Closed shop meetings not involving any residential input were orchestrated from Black Country House, the lair of the BCDC.
On gaining planning permission, via a dubious appeal where the adjoining “bad use neighbour” lagoon was the main reason for Sandwell Council’s original refusal, Mintworth effectively vanished off the scene, except for a metal tatting exercise, leaving behind them a present to the local community of “private open space”- vast over tipped piles of foundry sand that later greened over, bizarrely populated by pampas grass and stunted Christmas Trees. Some areas however did produce mature trees leaving the site green and rewilded- something the Hurst’s never planned during their tatting exercises on the site.
Mintworth did however re-emerge like a phoenix (or a foundry sand dragon from its own dust), at the Sandwell Site Allocations Delivery Plan Document , (SSADPD), in 2011 with consultants RPS putting forward housing proposals, but not apparently as owners. 😆
A DUBIOUS “OFFSHORE” OWNERSHIP
The transition of some of this land for apparently peanuts is shown in four land registry documents where the titles appear to have been transferred to “Denver Limited “ registered in Jersey on 2/2/2006. the amount paid for these titles is a token joke, without a doubt at £5,000 a pop.
One should be reminded of the EA statement about Mintworth Quays concerning the site licence in documents associated with the Sandwell site allocations delivery plan proposals. “The permit for the Rattlechain Tip no longer exists. The permit holder, Mintworth Quays Ltd, was dissolved on 22-Mar-2007 and the permit disappeared with the Company.” ” Nice timing. 😉
WR23942 Land and buildings lying to the North of Dudley Road East Rowley Regis Retrieved 2nd AUG 2017
WM451825 part of Tividale water Reclamation works, Tividale. Retrieved 13th MAY 2019.
WM168650 Land lying to the north east of Tipton Road, Tividale, Warley. Retrieved 13th MAY 2019
WM577588 Land on the North side of MacDonald Close , Temple Way Rowley Regis Retrieved 27th October 2020
N.B this title is also registered to “Denver Limited”, and by when apparently sold to “Rattlechain Redevelopments Limited” of Henley in Arden, was sold on 19th May 2020 with the other previously mentioned titles for a whopping £1.2 million.
That land that had been sitting idle since Mintworth Quays abandoned it in 2007 has been a nice little earner for this Jersey Registered company hasn’t it, without them ever apparently having done a sausage on it since they acquired the sites in 2006 for so little? 😀
It is interesting to note the role here of a certain Manc law firm in handling the activities of the mysterious Denver as well as the other Mintworth site at Shidas Lane under the company “Cleeve Investments Limited” also registered at the same address! . They appear to be quite active in dealing with offshore registered land ownerships in this part of the world via the old Ship Canal House. 😉
Nothing happened in many years since that allocation was presented in 2011. I am not sure what Mintworth have been doing for quite some time, but note they had a first notice of strike off at one point.
Of course, myself and many residents of the Temple Way Estate and users of Sheepwash Local Nature Reserve organised a petition to stop the ludicrous “Garden City” proposals put forward in Sandwell council’s Dudley Port Supplementary Planning Document.
I would add that this opposition from residents and site users is still very much totally against any further development, or “redevelopment” or more accurately regurgitation of a stale old pipedream of a tatter and his son and moving around vast amounts of foundry sand to create a new misery by adding yet more under “stabilising” or “surcharging the mound”. Pile of bollocks. Another petition has been handed in regards the latest Sandwell plan proposals and we shall see what the inspector makes of this in due course.
The former Severn Trent sewage works were “a crap site for residential” according to Sandwell planning officer John Baylay
SEVERN STENCH
Severn Trent’s role in this affair is now beginning to emerge, and this serial environmental polluter and habitat wrecker appear to be still soiling the planning process where they enjoy a statutory consultee status. I have looked at how they sell off land formerly in the public ownership and land bank this HERE.
They do little to remediate land that their company contaminated with human excrement like that at Friar park and expect the tax payer to pick up the tab whilst their bloated fat cat CEO and shareholders cream off the state aid “clean up funds” in doing so. Indeed when the planning committee at the council looked minded to refuse the planning decision for the former Tividale sewage works, an individual from this company attempted to subvert the planning process demanding a meeting with the chief executive prior to the planning committee meeting. What a bloody cheek! I wonder WTF this had to do with them as a company or him as an individual when they had “sold” the land to Mintworth in 1988? Was there a get out clause I wonder if development was refused or a nice fat personal bonus for closing the deal?
The letter below is evidence of what I have stated above from STW’s own position.
I put in an email request to CEO Liv Garfield on this transaction, also noting that a new mortgage charge had been filed under the company “Rattlechain Redevelopments Limited” dated 19th May 2020.
I received this reply from a Justin Bailey.
“ST Classification: LEGALLY PRIVILEGED
Good afternoon Mr Carroll,
I have been passed your email of 19th January to Liv Garfield in my role as Head of Property. This matter is historic and so it has taken a few days to research the facts.
I appreciate that you are passionate about the environment, which is to be applauded, and your investigations have led you to believe that Severn Trent are involved in or are in control of the future use of the site. It is not.
The land in question was sold by Severn Trent Water Authority (as was) in April 1988 and the terms of this sale were recorded in a contract for sale entered into in the same year with Mintworth Limited. Several onward sales of the land have occurred since.
The original sale contract from 1988 contained what is known as an ‘overage’ provision which is common practice in the property industry. It provides that if future changes in use of the land takes place, that Severn Trent is entitled to receive a share of any profit derived from that change of use. This right lasts for a period of 80 years.
The document you obtained from Land Registry is merely a subsequent purchaser, of part of the original land sold, entering into a deed to record a legal charge on their title concerning the overage provision in favour of Severt Trent. This is not a mortgage in the everyday use of the word and Severn Trent is not lending money to Rattlechain Developments and has no dealing with them.
As regards the future use of the site, Severn Trent are not involved.
Considering the above, I do not believe there is cause to correspond further on this matter.
Justin Bailey (He/Him)
Head of Property & Strategic Resource Options
Severn Trent Water Ltd”
This therefore confirms that Severn Trent still have a financial interest in this land gaining planning permission for yet more housing. They can attempt to divorce themselves from Rattlechain Redevelopments all they like, but overage means they stand to gain from any permission granted whilst they also remain a statutory consultee when any application arises. They will also of course merely feed new housing into their own badly managed old network which they will not update, only if water rate payers pay for it. This is a cycle of capitalist corruption and in this instance they should not be allowed the status of statutory consultee where their comments made in favour for development, or lack of them against stand to reward their own private purse.
NEW NAME FOR OLD ROPE?
This company were incorporated on 10th December 2018 just months after apparently buying the land titles and as evidenced transferring a “mortgage” with Severn Trent via a charge on the land some time later.
There are two listed directors, a Patrick James Kelly and Desmond Noel Kelly, two Irish nationals whom I take to be brothers.
Together they have a string of directorships, mostly linked to the same service address.
The entity based at The Mill in Henley in Arden have also snapped up the other Mintworth Twin Peaks abandonment in Tipton in 2018 for £2 million. This site has an equally dubious planning history with the “reclamation” company, who also won a planning appeal against refusal from the council but also failed to ever do anything with the land, despite having the brass neck to apply for a time extension which has since now also passed. It was throughout the 1990’s associated with Rattlechain and the decanting of material from one tip to the other. Sandwell council and the Black Country Development Corporation were aware of transgressions and repeated residential complaints at both sites, and yet their officers looked the other way. Shame on them for their failure to protect residents rights.
The convenient name, like that for Rattlechain is based at the same address according to information from Companies House.
Another what appears to be parent group known as “Corbally Developments Limited” is also registered here too.
Having dug further into the background of these individuals , the source below gives interesting background as to the father of the Kelly family Patrick, not to be confused with the son Patrick who appears to take the middle name “Jim”.
Kelly family sells DSM Demolition | Construction Enquirer News
“Patrick Kelly from Kildare set up P J Murray Haulage in the 1960’s. The Birmingham-based business evolved into DSM Demolition, which was managed day-to-day by his sons Jim, Des and John Kelly.”
I will look at the latter company below, but let us delve into the business affairs of father Pat and PJ Murray haulage Limited.
This was an era of illegal tipping which of course resulted in the deposit of poisonous wastes Act in 1972 after cyanide dumping hit the headlines. Much of this involved dodgy firms acting as waste carriers who bribed corrupt officials at tips to fly tip hazardous waste. Patrick Kelly Snr is revealed to be one such individual in the story from the 16th April 1981 Coventry Evening Telegraph.
The figure of £2,660 pounds paid by Kelly to the West Midlands County Council tip operator in Solihull saw this individual jailed, and yet why was the briber able to get off scott free? This quango as we know were both incompetent and badly run so it comes as little surprise that crooks like Ekin were able to operate and I bet that this was just the tip of the waste tipping iceberg.
The Kelly bribes
P J Murray were in the news again in 1988 for dumping asbestos illegally.
9th July 1988 Sandwell Evening Mail
This saw the firm being taken to court by Hereford and Worcester County Council after asbestos waste was dumped on a farm in the county at an unlicenced site. We get a total joker from this company, ironically named “Rob” attempt to pass off the deadly chemical with a ludicrous explanation . Many such companies pretend to have some legitimate waste carrier demeanour but in reality are just a bunch of didicoys with a tipping truck.
And then the matter of price fixing and value for money with the tax payer being ripped off. The matter below was raised by Jeff Rooker MP, whom I must say as a former Labour MP I have learnt to have a great deal of respect for in that he raised pollution issues like this on a regular basis, particularly with the scum from Leigh Environmental in Walsall.
The 14th December 1988 Birmingham News raised concerns about the soaring costs associated with the flagship convention centre ICC and PJ Murray’s role in demolishing the former brewery that had been the obstacle in the way. Once again, Powell for this company, whom it is revealed worked for this corrupt and of course longstanding bankrupt retard local authority Birmingham City Council as deputy demolition officer when P J Murray won the contract. He then left that authority straight into a job with said demolition company. One can draw conclusions from this based on the 1981 article above but there is no evidence of course to associate either party with any wrongdoing. 😀
Price Waterhouse Cooper are one of the biggest Labour party donors out there and many would be sceptical of any vetting done by this firm given the state of the City Council finances that it now finds itself in.
And as a little matter of coincidence, just look at one company they were doing business with in 1988 from Tipton, why none other than Mintworth! On this note, I am still very sceptical that John Hurst is not still involved in some way with this site. Indeed I fully expect that there is some clause in the “sale” of this land where any future development will benefit the original polluter of the land. Who will pay for the full remediation of it however- not fucking him that is for sure!
Pat Kelly Seniors company therefore does not appear to have very good foundations with many red flags raised, and see further below concerning DSM Demolition Limited ran by his sons for most of its existence.
Works under cover of lockdown 2020
In October 2020 I noticed activity on the hill off Gladstone Drive and vehicles travelling along the John’s Lane Road. I query the legal right for vehicles to use this access up to the canal given that it was in place at the time of the waste management licence for the said operation. When Mintworth decided to nullify this and abandon the site, that licence was extinguished, yet for sanctioned tatting operation in 2010-11 vehicles accessing this path obliterated the condition as well as damaging the Rhodia fence, so much so that signs were placed on here, (see below).
On speaking to local residents, it was also clear that they were accessing the site via Gladstone Drive as well, and this sparked concern as to what was being undertaken here in light of the machinery.
My observations showed that new boreholes were being sunk all over the place, including the one below on the crest of the East of Rose Lane area.
Black tracks were clearly carving up the land as they had a decade earlier turning the greened over land treacle noir again.
This operation appeared to last nearly a month, and samples were observed to have been collected of soil samples.
According to the company information from this consultancy
“Our primary areas of interest are: – Ground investigation covering geotechnical and environmental services. Construction and built environment services.”
Drilling rigs were all over the site, and also right next to residential properties which caused concern again for residents.
red flags
And the so called absurd “Garden City” claimed its first casualties in that pathetic and fraudulent vision.
Local residents also took this video of activity adjacent to their homes. These two videos were taken on 15th and 16th October 2020.
In regard to this new activity, I sent questions to SMBC as to what was going on and if consent was needed for such an operation, given that under legislation, this site is NOT the responsibility of the Environment Agency, due to the licence bypass, but of the council to ensure that no one comes to harm as a result of disturbing land known to contain waste potentially harmful to human health. This is part 2 A of The Environmental Protection Act.
It took this council 6 months to reply to this query, a pathetic and deliberate delay on their part. One can see from this that they could not care less about opposition to built development on “crap site” land such as this.
“With regard to your enquiry of 1st March which essentially was seeking a response to your original enquiry of last October. Firstly, I apologise for the delay in responding, but your enquiry related to a number of different elements, many of which I am not directly responsible, hence this coupled with COVID 19 restrictions has made it difficult for officers to investigate your enquiry.
Response
Council officers will pursue the contractor and site owner to reinstate the footpath. Unfortunately due to COVID 19, we are finding that Enforcement action can take more than a year through the Magistrates Court
The works that were undertaken last year, were exploratory works to understand the feasibility of developing site. Planning permission is not required for these works. Environmental Health would not have any involvement unless the works caused nuisance to residents. The planning authority has visited the site and noted that works have now ceased. If a planning application is made in due course we would review any feasibility works that had been undertaken in consultation with Environmental Health. Such works are deemed to be good practice in preparation for the assembly of planning applications.
Whilst the site is allocated for housing within the development plan, no formal pre-application discussions have taken place at present with regard to redeveloping the site. If a formal planning application is submitted for this site, both local residents and relevant statutory consultees (i.e. Environmental Health) would be consulted. Any comments received would be considered during the determination of the application.”
the undertaking involved in the infringing conduct or because they were the parent or
economic company of that undertaking):
Holdings Limited, Nobel Midco Limited and Nobel Topco Limited “
…….at least
Temple Way Estate smothered by the Hursts circa 1994 . Robert brook/science photo library. NEVER AGAIN!