Winding up of ill fated Heart of Wales Property Service has started
Winding up the ill-fated Heart of Wales Property Services (HOWPS) has begun and will be completed later this year.
Documents lodged on the UK Government’s Companies House website on Christmas Eve last year show that the process of liquidating the joint venture between Powys County Council and Kier construction is now underway and will take a year to finish.
HOWPS conducted repairs and maintenance on Powys’ housing stock – 5,400 homes and 630 other properties including schools.
But problems dogged HOWPS from its formation in 2017 which caused the partnership to be continually questioned by councillors.
The contract was set to run until 2027 but a break clause which allowed either party to terminate the partnership in July 2022 was invoked by the council.
At that time around 150 workers were transferred to work for Powys many of which had been transferred from the council to work for HOWPS in the first place.
The documents show that on December 23 the four remaining directors of HOWPS which include Powys County Council’s corporate services director and S151 officer, Jane Thomas, and leader of the Conservative group Cllr Aled Davies agreed a “special resolution” and reduced the “share capital” of the company.
This saw the share worth of £1,925,100 reduced to £2 with £1,925,098 of £1 ordinary shares “cancelled and extinguished” paid up and put into a reserve.
A further “solvency statement” signed by the directors agrees that they have “formed the opinion” that HOWPS would be able to “pay” or discharge any liabilities during the winding up period.
Companies House also reveal that HOWPS has moved its registered address from Unit 31 Ddole Road Industrial Estate in Llandrindod Wells to Keir Construction’s offices on the second floor of Optimum House, Clippers Quay, in Salford, Greater Manchester.
In July last year the directorships of former Conservative cabinet member Phyl Davies and former director of economy and environment Nigel Brinn, were terminated.
Mr Davies lost his council seat in the May 2022 local elections and Mr Brinn left the authority in 2023 to become the chief executive of Forest of Dean district council in England.
None of the Liberal Democrat/Labour administration in power since May 2022 have been on the HOWPS board of directors.
Last year the council’s Governance and Audit committee received a report which looked at the relationship the council had with HOWPS and what lessons could be learned from the venture.
These lessons included the need to invest in staff training.
This would have better prepared staff for relationships and roles between contract, partnership, and joint working.
The “step in process” where the council are supposed to take over if problems are identified with the service provision – needed to be more “robust and substantial.”
