The deputy leader of Sefton Council failed to declare several properties owned by a company of which he is the sole shareholder.
Cllr John Fairclough, who represents Linacre ward for the Labour party and is deputy leader of the Labour group was investigated by Sefton Council after a complaint was made by campaigner John Rice.
Mr Rice, who recently stood against Cllr Fairclough as an independent candidate in local elections, had complained to the council’s monitoring officer, chief legal and democratic officer David McCullough that the deputy leader had failed to declare a number of properties he owned through a company he runs with his son, Fairclough Properties Ltd.
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Mr Rice claimed that in doing so, Cllr Fairclough was in breach of the member’s code of conduct, which requires councillors to disclose “any beneficial interest in land which is within the area of the council.” However Mr McCullough found this not to be the case.
Following the investigation, Mr McCullough decided that no further action would be taken against the deputy council leader, who made assurances that he did not benefit financially from his role with the company. He said the council's register has now been updated.
Cllr Fairclough did disclose an interest in the company in November 2022 during a meeting to discuss the borough’s selective and HMO licensing scheme. That declaration stated: “He is a non-paid Non-Executive Director of his son’s private landlord business. He remained in the room but did note vote on the agenda item.”
According to Companies House records, Cllr Fairclough has been registered as the person of significant control of the company, Fairclough Properties Ltd since 2018 and designated as the sole shareholder, holding 75% or over of the company’s shares.
The company was formed in 2017 with Cllr Fairclough and Anthony Fairclough both listed as directors. That has remained the case apart from a period between November 2018 and 2019 when Cllr Fairclough was the sole director of the company.
According to Land Registry data, Fairclough Properties Ltd owns three properties in Bootle and Seaforth – 12 and 14 Rawson Road and 63 Seaforth Road, which is split into three units.
All of the properties were acquired in 2018 or 2019 by the company for a combined price of just over £200k according to Land Registry data.
Mr Rice said that he believed Cllr Fairclough should have declared the properties and his financial interest in the company. He also complained about a failure to declare an interest when an application for a certificate of lawfulness to subdivide 63 Seaforth Road into three units was submitted to the council’s planning department in 2019.
In emails shared with the LDRS, Sefton Council’s monitoring officer Mr McCullough, whose role involves dealing with complaints about councillors in relation to the code of conduct, said he had been advised by Cllr Fairclough that he did not receive any financial gain from Fairclough Properties Ltd.
The email stated: “I have made preliminary enquiries with Cllr. Fairclough and he has confirmed that he does not and has never, received any remuneration from Fairclough Properties Limited and this is why he has not mentioned the directorship in his Register of Interests under the requirement set out in The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 to declare “Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain”.
Mr McCullough added that on the issue of the planning application at Seaforth Road, “as Cllr. Fairclough would not have been part of any decision-making process within the Council in relation to the same, Cllr. Fairclough’s view is that there was no requirement to declare his interest in the company in that regard; a view with which I agree.”
However, on the issue of the properties owned by Cllr Fairclough’s company, Mr McCullough said that following inquiries, the deputy leader “acknowledges that he should have declared his interest”.
Mr McCullough said that Cllr Fairclough has now updated the register to include the properties, adding that while the failure to disclose “could be considered to be a breach of the Members Code of Conduct” the fact that this had now been remedied meant “no further action will be taken.”
On the council’s website, Cllr Fairclough’s interest in the companies are now listed as: “Non-Executive Director, Fairclough Properties Limited All company properties: 12 & 14 Rawson Road, L21 1BX 63, 63a and 63b Seaforth Road, L21 3TX 45 Queens Road, L20 7BN.”
Cllr Fairclough and Sefton Council were both contacted for a response.
A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “As with all complaints of this nature, we considered the concerns raised against a member of the Council.
“Our Chief Legal and Democratic Officer has considered the facts presented as part of this complaint and we are satisfied that this matter has been resolved in line with the requirements of the Member’s Code of Conduct.”
Cllr Fairclough won the Linacre ward at last week's elections with 1166 votes. Mr Rice came in third with 138 votes.
Cllr Fairclough did not respond to request for comment.
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