Sue Dawson, 73, and Pamela Anderson, 82, stand outside the gates of Greenbank Drive Synagogue near Smithdown Road, Sefton Park, where gangs of teenagers are "wrecking" the listed building.
Greenbank Drive Synagogue has been empty since it closed as a place of worship in 2008. Plans to convert the Grade-II* listed art deco synagogue into 22 flats were approved in 2018, with a further 30 flats to be built in a new block on the grounds. But to date, there has been no progress.
The iron Star of David gates have been forced open, almost every window is smashed, and the door is daubed with graffiti. The building, described by the 20th Century Society as "one of the most architecturally and historically significant faith buildings in the country", has become a magnet for so-called urban explorers and vandals, with photographs showing the decaying interior with all its original features in place. One explorer fell through the roof in 2019, legs dangling through the plaster of the ceiling high above the stalls.
Heritage campaigners urge action
The heritage campaign group called on the synagogue's owners to take their maintenance responsibilities seriously and put a stop to the "wilful neglect and decline" of "arguably the finest surviving synagogue of its period in Europe".
Neighbours say teenagers are breaking into the synagogue "all the time" and that police have been called on several occasions. The ECHO set out to find the owners of the crumbling landmark, travelling to Manchester and to the marble halls of one of Liverpool's Three Graces in the hunt for the people who have left one of the city's most striking and culturally important buildings to rot.
History and ownership
Greenbank Drive Synagogue opened in 1937, replacing the synagogue on Hope Place in the city centre, now the Unity Theatre. In 1959, a blaze started by a burglar destroyed the Torah Ark and its scrolls before spreading to the roof. The synagogue was closed for almost two years for repairs, and survived another fire in 1965. It was given Grade-II listed status in 1983 before Historic England upgraded the listing to Grade-II* around the time the synagogue closed, before adding it to the At Risk Register.
The synagogue's last appearance before Liverpool City Council's planning committee was in 2020, when conditions of the planning application were discharged. The council owns the freehold on the property. A spokesperson for the council said it is in discussions with the tenant about bringing it back into use.
The leasehold is owned by Green Drive Liverpool Ltd, the firm which successfully sought planning permission to turn the former synagogue into flats. The firm was run by seven Manchester and London-based directors as of October 2018, all but one of which have since resigned. The ECHO tracked the last remaining director, Robert Issler, 55, to his home in Manchester, and spoke with Mr Issler's wife. Mr Issler has not responded to the ECHO's repeated requests for comment.
Mr Issler is the director of 23 active companies, including a firm called Eazy Vape Ltd, and has a total of 95 appointments listed on Companies House. Many of these listings are as a former director for property and estates firms. The firm's accounts are overdue according to Companies House. In 2023, when concerns were raised over vandalism at the synagogue, a spokesperson for the firm told the ECHO that renegotiation of the lease was holding up progress but discussions were "moving forward quickly".
Luxury apartments advertised
Since then, the only visible change to the synagogue is the hoardings that have appeared on the fence advertising "luxury apartments" sold by Hartford Capital Group, a firm with a glossy website with the tagline "property investment, elevated", and a prestigious office address at the Port of Liverpool building. Hartford, run by two brothers from Lincolnshire, has deactivated all its social media accounts. Some of the hoardings outside the synagogue have been partially torn down. Hartford Capital's directors, brothers Ryan and Callum Morley, have not responded to the ECHO's requests for comments, and declined to speak to the ECHO on our second visit to the office earlier this week.
Pamela Anderson, 82, lives close to the former synagogue in a North West Jewish Housing Association property. She said: "Kids are getting in all the time since they broke up. I've been here for 22 years and it's been like that almost the whole time. All the windows have been broken. It's such a waste. There used to be security there, but that was about eight years ago."
Merseyside Police confirmed officers had responded to reports of youths causing nuisance and damage at the disused synagogue and had "strongly advised" the teenagers not to be around the building when they have been found.
Neighbour Sue Dawson, 73, said: "Four or five times, I've shouted at the kids when they sneak in, and they just ignore you. The police have turned up a few times. It's sad, and there's a lot of buildings like this. I've noticed on Princes Avenue. All the space around this building is wasted. There's damage from the children, with all the windows broken and graffiti on the doors. The building is going to waste."
Community calls for restoration
Anthony Cocklin, 73, said of the Greenbank Drive Synagogue: "You can see loads of kids getting in there. It's a waste, and the kids are wrecking it bit by bit. It needs something doing with it. They need to get it up and running."
The 20th Century Society, a group campaigning to protect post-1914 heritage buildings, describes the building as "arguably the finest surviving synagogue of its period in Europe." A spokesperson told the ECHO: "As a Grade II* listed national heritage asset, the 1930s Greenbank Drive Synagogue is one of the most architecturally and historically significant faith buildings in the country. Only 5.8% of all listed buildings are at the very high II* grade. Combining elements of Art Deco and Swedish National Romantic style, it's arguably the finest surviving synagogue of its period in Europe. It is devastating, therefore, to see the wilful neglect and decline of the building. Abandoned for nearly 20 years, it's now extremely vulnerable to vandalism and creeping dereliction. We strongly urge the owners of Greenbank to take their maintenance responsibilities seriously and ensure that new plans to restore the building are forthcoming. The previous ill-judged plans for residential conversion are more than a decade old, and it's surely now time to look again at how this fabulous space could best serve its local area in the 21st century."
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: "The Council owns the freehold of the building and is in discussions with the tenant about bringing it back into use. As those discussions are ongoing, we cannot comment further at this stage."
Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Laura Chandler said: "We have received reports of youths at the disused synagogue, reportedly causing nuisance and damage. Officers have attended and when people have been found, we have strongly advised them not to do so. I would repeat that message to any parents and guardians in the area. Please ensure you keep your children away from derelict properties, as they may be dangerous. It has not been confirmed if damage has been caused, due to the existing condition of the property. Enquiries have been made to trace the owners of the building to enable them to properly secure the land, so that the risk of crime, anti-social behaviour and harm is reduced. In the meantime, please call us in the event of any incidents of crime or anti-social behaviour, or if you have any images or footage to identify people attending. You can call 101 or report concerns online. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress."
