Safety concerns after former shop in Moreton left in 'dreadful state'

The former jewellers shop on Upton Road in Moreton closed many years ago and has, according to residents in the town, fallen into a disrepair and is now home to pigeons.

Efforts to contact the owners are understood to have been made by the council, but to no avail.

Marj Lancaster-Smith is among campaigners in the town calling for action to make the building safe.

She told the Globe: "I am determined not to allow Moreton to be blighted by this property as Moreton in Bloom have worked so hard to bring back the community spirit to the area.

"I feel that we as a community have to fight for everything as money seems to be allocated to other areas.

The former jewellers shop on Upton Road in Moreton closed many years ago and has, according to residents in the town, fallen into a disrepair and is now home to pigeons (Image: Craig Manning / Newsquest)"I and many other residents have been concerned about a privately owned commercial property in Moreton Cross which has been left to deteriorate into a dreadful state by the owners.

"I think in the interest of health and safety not to mention the environmental implications of pigeons now living and nesting in there, for the health and safety of the general public, which should be paramount, something should be done urgently about contacting the owners, encouraging them to bring the property back to a safe and acceptable standard".

According to residents in the town, the premises were built by a former jump jockey named Frank 'Tich' Mason, who was born in 1879 in Liverpool and died in October 1969.

He rode the winner of the Grand National in 1905 on a horse called Kirkland and named a house he built in Moreton after him. He is said to have trained a lot of his horses on the beach in Moreton.

The former jewellers shop on Upton Road in Moreton closed many years ago and has, according to residents in the town, fallen into a ;dreadful state' and is now home to pigeons (Image: Craig Manning / Newsquest)He was Irish Jump Jockey Champion in 1900 and became one of the top jockeys of the era and all in all rode 720 winners in his long career.

After retiring from racing he lived in Moreton and is believed to have built all the shops on the Cross in the shape of a horseshoe and had the names of some of the winners he had ridden placed over each shop front.

He died in Moreton in 1969 aged 90 and his ashes were scattered at the start of the Grand National Course at Aintree.

The premises are understood to have been built by Jump Jockey Frank Mason (Tich). He had the names of winners he had ridden placed - for example The Golden Valley (pictured) - over each shop front (Image: Craig Manning / Newsquest)Ms Lancaster-Smith added: "I, and other residents do not want to see this property have to be demolished and I have discovered that it might be possible to apply for the buildings to be listed at no cost or if the process needs to be speeded up, at a nominal sum, which I am sure we could afford to preserve a piece of history.

"This would not be allowed to happen in Port Sunlight Village and I see no reason why these historic buildings cannot be considered as part of Moreton's heritage and preserved for future generations to enjoy.

"We lost The Plough (pub) to make way for a Tesco Express.

"We must not lose these shops in Moreton because of wanton neglect and apathy on the part of those who really should care about our heritage and communities."

Moreton in Bloom, a local community group run by a dedicated team of volunteers, has also been campaigning for the building to be preserved.

The group first reported its concerns about the building to local councillors in 2022, after a slate fell from the roof of the building and narrowly missed one of our volunteers they were out tending plants.

A spokesperson for the group told the Globe: "The issue was eventually picked up and following a structural engineer's report we spoke to a representative from Wirral Council who advised that the building posed no immediate risk and that WBC would send a letter to the owners of the building asking that they take action to remediate the building.

"We were also told that should anyone be injured the owner of the building would be liable with no responsibility falling on WBC. 

"Following this last year we formally submitted a request to Wirral Council after more slates fell onto the pavement and half of the wooden shop sign also came down onto the pavement after high winds.

"The other half of the wooden shop sign has fallen down, an upstairs window has blown in and a member of the public approached us four weeks ago to say a slate had just missed him when he was walking past along the pavement.

"We have also tried to track down the owners of the property to appeal to them directly with no avail.

"Unfortunately in this situation we believe someone will need to be injured for action to finally be taken. We would appreciate any support that any member of the public can give us with this situation."

A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: "The council has recently received a complaint in relation to this property and investigations are currently ongoing."