26/11 ARA freezes £1.5 million of property in Manchester

ARA freezes £1.5 million of property in Manchester


The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) has been granted orders in the High Court in London freezing £1,579,127 worth of property in Manchester which the Agency alleges is funded from money laundering, fuel smuggling and mortgage fraud. This follows the investigation of a case referred to the Agency by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Nine residential properties in Manchester belonging to Francis and Judy Murphy of Ballybinaby, County Louth in the Republic of Ireland and one property belonging to Julian Dowe of Rowan Avenue, Sale, Manchester are the subject of Property Freezing Orders (PFO) obtained from the High Court by ARA.

In its application to the High Court ARA alleges that Mr & Mrs Murphy built their property portfolio on wealth derived from money laundering and fuel smuggling in Ireland. The nine properties subject to the PFO are mainly in the Trafford and Stretford areas of Manchester.

These include two houses owned by Judy Murphy, worth £70,056 and £188,071 each plus a further seven properties registered to Francis and Judy Murphy's property firm, Sailor Property (UK) Ltd, Britannia Road, Manchester, which changed its name to FTM Properties (UK) Limited in August 2006. These include four flats - one worth £119,200, two worth £109,200 and one worth £111,300. There are a further three houses worth £185,000, £128,000 and £109,100. The equity in these properties is around £381,000.

Colin Farrelly of Dundalk, Republic of Ireland, is also named as a Director of FTM Properties (UK) Limited but ARA has not alleged that he is involved in any criminality or holds property on behalf of Francis and Judy Murphy.

In relation to Julian Dowe, ARA alleges that he obtained his £450,000 home in Sale, Manchester, through mortgage fraud. The property which has equity of around £160,000 is now subject to a PFO.

This action follows on from searches made throughout the Manchester area in October 2005 in which ARA seized more than 350,000 records. Since then the Agency has executed a large scale forensic exercise, carried out further searches and a number of interviews in the Manchester area. Based on the findings of these investigations the Agency is now in a position to apply for PFOs in relation to various properties. Due to the complexity and scale of the Manchester operation the investigation is being handled in stages and is still ongoing.

The properties belonging to Francis and Judy Murphy are occupied by legal tenants who are not connected to the criminality in this case.

26/11 Living spaces transforms neighbourhoods in North West

Living spaces transforms neighbourhoods in North West


Local communities can transform their own neighbourhoods, Green Spaces Minister Kay Andrews will say today.

She will say that thanks to a £30million Government initiative many more people in the North West will be able to see that they have the power to change their surroundings for the better.

The Living Spaces programme has given thousands of people the opportunity to revitalise open spaces in their community. More than a project a day was completed during the lifetime of the scheme.

One such scheme in Greater Manchester has been heralded as a perfect example of what local communities were able to achieve.

Trafford's Gorse Hill community action group secured a £23,850 grant to plant an avenue of much needed trees follow a local regeneration drive. While investment had been made in bricks and mortar the local residents were desperate to restore a bit of greenery to their streets. Local schoolchildren were recruited to help with the planting of 24 trees and the leafy results have prompted a clamour for more trees in neighbouring areas.

Speaking at a major stakeholder event looking at the way forward for the community empowerment agenda, Kay Andrews announced the publication of the Living Spaces Evaluation Summary.

In total 1087 Living Spaces projects have been completed involving nearly 100,000 people along the way. The evaluation has found that given the right support and opportunities, people are willing and capable of taking responsibility for the quality of their neighbourhoods
Kay Andrews said:

"Living Space has given thousands of people in the North West the opportunity to transform their own neighbourhoods. Whether it's a new skate park for youngsters or a community garden, Living Spaces has made a real difference to the local environment and people's quality of life. At the same time, it has encouraged people to take pride in where they live.

"The evaluation summary we are publishing today sets out some examples of truly inspirational local projects and includes some valuable lessons for community groups who want to take action to improve their local area."

Communities and Local Government worked closely with Groundwork, the environmental charity, who managed the Living Spaces scheme with support from GreenSpace.

Tony Hawkhead, Chief Executive of Groundwork, said:

"Living Spaces has demonstrated just what can be achieved by communities when they're given the resources and support to improve their local environment. The programme has given hundreds of groups the opportunity to transform their neighbourhoods and there have been some really inspirational projects. Empowering communities to bring about lasting change is what Groundwork is all about, and we're proud to have played our part in the success of Living Spaces."

Living Spaces provided grants to local groups throughout England, to make improvements to open spaces in their neighbourhood and create valuable places for the whole community to enjoy. It formed part of the government's commitment to creating Cleaner, Safer, Greener communities for all.

26/09 Goodbye Mr Blair, Hello Mr Brown? goodbye Labour?

Have labour shot themselves in the foot. Mr Foot oh no!

They are now looking like a gang of headless chickens without a future leader.

Mr Blair has been the real leader for three terms and has the imagination and flair to create a dynamic party. The policies you might not agree with, you may hate him but Mr Blair has the strength to make his case.

Unfortunately most politicians are out of touch with the real world its part of the job.They are too busy playing politics.In most cases they lack the ability to make themselves popular with the public-Mr Brown?.

Mr Blair is popular and has the abilty to convince you he is in touch.He has mass appeal.He sells the product called New Labour and pushed old labour under the floorboards.He could have done the same with The Conservative Party.

New labour? The public do not see a new leader yet for new labour.What happened to Old Labour will this become new new labour? oh no!

Goodbye.