Christmas Adjournment

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I am aware of the work that he has done to get compensation for many miners and others. I also have a complaint against the firm with the Legal Complaints Service, because it has refused to correspond with me as an elected Member of Parliament; indeed, it will not even answer the correspondence that I send. The directors of Worktalent Ltd are Messrs. Gibson, Owen and Mark. Mr. Owen and Mr. Mark are also partners, as well as directors, of the said firm of Mark Gilbert Morse. The company bought the land cheaply—we estimate for around £12,500—a little over a decade ago, and 10 years ago issued an eviction notice against the allotment holders. Those allotment holders fought a brave and honourable campaign. They won support locally, nationally and, as it happens, internationally, including from many Members of Parliament, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin). The allotment holders also successfully lifted the eviction, and in the process managed to get one of their pigeon crees—a north-east colloquialism for what people often know as pigeon lofts—recognised as the world's only grade II listed pigeon cree. I understand why we list many of our great stately homes, but working people's culture and heritage ought equally to be celebrated, so it was a great tribute to the men to achieve that. The company has now come back at the men and commenced proceedings to have them evicted. The company has offered them financial inducements if they assist in having the crees de-listed and in securing planning permission. The men—and some women, too—are not prepared to do that. I met with them last Saturday. The company's offer was rejected 22-nil, despite the great stress that the men are under— four of the men have had heart attacks in the past few months and one has had a stroke. Although there will be many reasons for their illness, part of the reason has to be connected with the anxiety that they feel. Simply put, the men are not prepared to sell out for financial inducement. They might not have very much—many of them are redundant miners or shipyard workers—but they know the value of community and the value of working with children in local schools. To those men, that does not come in bundles of pound notes; it comes from what they feel in their hearts. The land is essentially worthless: the city council does not consider it acceptable to grant planning permission for alternative use and it has a grade II listed building on it. The land has no real value other than what it does now. The reality is that the company—this shell, dormant firm—took a punt. It bought a piece of land hoping that it would receive planning permission, but it did not count on the fight that the men would put up. They are men who have dug coal and built ships, and they do not threaten easily. The men's greatest fear is not the arrival of bailiffs over the Christmas and new year period; rather, it is being denied access to the land in order to feed the pigeons that they care for. I will pursue animal welfare legislation if the men are denied access, in respect of the health and welfare of the pigeons on site. I will also contact the appropriate authorities today, including the police, to make it perfectly clear that anyone found responsible for any damage done to that grade II listed building will face a custodial sentence, as is the law of the land. Despite everything, there is a way forward. I urge the company to accept a proposal that will be made today. Specifically, I urge the Sunderland property developer, a Mr. Russell Foster, whom I believe to be behind the company—people might ask why I believe that; the answer is that he has told me as much and that the company secretary, Mr. Owen, admitted in a conversation that was taped by the BBC that the company was Mr. Foster's—to accept a generous and imaginative offer that will be put forward today by Gentoo Living, the community arm of the former Sunderland housing group, and supported by the city council. The offer is to purchase the land, so that it can continue to be used as allotments and so that the work done with local children, who come in and work with the men, learning how to grow food and how to tender and care for pigeons, can also continue. That would be the best and most realistic outcome to the problem I have pledged to my constituents that I will work as hard as I can to ensure that, whatever happens, the building will never be de-listed and that the view of the city council on not granting permission will be upheld. The company has an opportunity to make a profit from the land that it got or, in these final days before bailiffs arrive on the Ryhope allotments, to consider carefully what is a realistic and imaginative offer to the company and to Mr. Russell Foster. I do not believe that the company, or Mr. Foster, wish to be remembered for eternity—to have as their lasting epitaph in Sunderland and in the north-east; indeed, throughout the whole of Britain—as the company, and the men, who evicted pensioners over Christmas and the new year from the land that they love. These men do not ask for a lot in life; they do not cause any trouble to anybody. They simply get up on a morning and go down to this land to grow food and tend to their pigeons. In 2007, it is not unreasonable to demand that we should try to deliver that to a group of people who contributed a great deal to this country economically. The choice is on the table if the company wishes to accept it; otherwise, it will live with the reputation of being behind a callous and unnecessary act that communities in the north-east will never forgive or forget. I ask the Minister to convey that message to all the Departments that are relevant to the building's listed status. Let me end by thanking all Members of this House. I was genuinely encouraged by the fact that the early-day motion in support of the Ryhope pigeon men was signed not only by Labour Members but by Conservative and Liberal Members and by Members from the smaller parties. I was very grateful for that, and I know that the men would like to convey their thanks to the House for the support they have received. I ask the Minister to convey what I have said to the relevant Departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as those responsible for planning.