A “litany of mistakes and missed opportunities” have enabled an erosion of the greenspace at Thornton Manor and cost Wirral Council tens of thousands in legal fees.

The authority’s audit committee heard that in 2011, the council wrongly sent Thornton Manor a document stating they could build three marquees on greenspace within the estate without any conditions attached.

But this was not what the planning committee agreed at a meeting on the issue a year earlier.

They insisted a number of conditions be added to the planning permission, including a time limit of five years, at which time the marquees could be pulled down if the committee wished.

At the 2010 meeting, chaired by Cllr Phil Gilchrist, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on Wirral Council, the planning committee also raised a number of concerns relating to preservation of the nearby lake and greenspace, as well as restrictions on fireworks which they were told could harm the estate’s wildlife.

The incorrect document received by Thornton Manor did not mention any of these conditions.

In the space where conditions would normally be located, there is simply an empty space.

The error has been blamed on an IT failure.

David Ball, Wirral Council’s assistant director for housing delivery, said he apologised for the error on behalf of all council officials involved.

He added the council had been open and transparent about the error and the IT system had been reviewed to make sure nothing like this can happen again.

Will the marquees stay up?

Wirral Council could have used legislation to override the original planning permission and ensure the conditions were added.

However, Phillip McCourt, Wirral Council’s director of governance, said this was ruled out on cost grounds, as Thornton Manor could have instigated incredibly costly legal action against the council.

But the dispute still went to the High Court in March 2018.

At the High Court, Wirral Council were required to pay 90% of Thornton Hall’s legal costs, amounting to a bill of just over £30,000 for the Wirral taxpayer.

They ruled in favour of the council, because the original planning permission was given in error and was therefore not valid.

Thornton Manor contested this decision at the Court of Appeal in April this year, but they upheld the High Court’s decision.

Wirral Council then reassessed the application for the three marquees and rejected it, as it was an inappropriate development on the greenbelt and could harm protected species and heritage assets at the Thornton Manor estate.

The council then issued an enforcement notice requiring the marquees to be removed.

But Thornton Manor have struck back. They are appealing the refusal of planning permission and the enforcement notice.

Both matters are likely to result in a public inquiry, which will cost the council yet more money at a time when every penny counts for the local authority.

So, in short, we do not know if the marquees will stay up.

How did councillors react?

Many were still very unhappy. They argued the council had opportunities to address the error much sooner.

Tory councillor Kathy Hodson noted the Court of Appeal, when considering whether the document sent in error entitled Thornton Manor to keep the marquees up indefinitely, said the council did have legal options to act sooner and could have acted sooner.

Conservative councillor Jeff Green, lamented the “litany of missed opportunities, mistakes and frankly incompetence by the council”.

Given Thornton Manor took unfair advantage of the council’s error in the eyes of many members of the committee, Cllr Ian Lewis, leader of the Tories in Wirral Council, asked if Thornton Manor had been taken off the council’s approved list of contractors?

Mr McCourt, the council’s director of governance, said there was no such list to his knowledge, but that he believed Wirral Council was not currently using Thornton Manor for any functions or events.