Former Quiggins owner Peter Tierney sued by his advisor

The former boss of Quiggins, in Liverpool, is accused of refusing to pay thousands of pounds in fees for expert help in the doomed battle to save his retail and cultural centre.

Urban planner Professor Iain Taylor is claiming ex-School Lane chief Peter Tierney [a BNP activist, pictured left] owes him over £30,000. This week, the matter ended up in Liverpool County Court and is expected to go to trial in the coming months.

Professor Taylor said he was hired by Mr Tierney when Quiggins, on School Lane, faced multi-million pound developer Grosvenor, in a high-profile public inquiry in 2003. The academic, now living in Canada, said that he struck a verbal contract with Tierney to pay him in the region of £11,000 for his services as a “campaign manager and expert witness”. But Mr Taylor, 66, alleges that, other than an initial payment of £1,000 and some expenses, he received no money.

The former Liverpool Institute pupil said the outstanding £11,000 fee had trebled due to interest and expenses incurred over the last six years. Ultimately, Quiggins lost the public inquiry which paved the way for the centre to be demolished, allowing Grosvenor to build the £1bn Liverpool One complex.

Prof Taylor said: “Peter was paying a lot of people for the campaign to save Quiggins – my bill was small potatoes to him. My fee was based on a 40 hour week, over a five week period, and my professional charge was discounted by 50%. Although there was nothing written down, we had a handshake deal, and it was clear what the arrangement was. But, after the settlement, it was like I’d been forgotten.”

The hearing at Liverpool County Court was adjourned until a later date. The ECHO contacted Mr Tierney, but he declined to talk about the civil dispute with Prof Taylor.

Grosvenor won a Compulsory Purchase Order to enable them to acquire the Quiggins building to create a new shopping arcade.

Peter Tierney, from Hale Village, opened Quiggins in the 1970s and built it into an alternative cultural market and shopping centre that attracts visitors from all over the world. Despite widespread support for Mr Tierney, he lost his fight to keep the hugely popular and iconic centre at its School Lane home.

The closure saw him and his brother Jimmy receive compensation, believed to be over £1m, to be shared between them.

Liverpool Daily Post

Note: Tierney is due back in court accused of assaulting an anti-fascist protestor, on October 29th.

Quiggins boss told to halt use of 08 logo

The former owner of Liverpool’s Quiggins centre has been warned by the city’s Culture Company about using the 08 logo to promote the British National Party.

Hill Dickinson, the Culture Company’s solicitors, have written to BNP party member Peter Tierney threatening legal action over his use of a version of the Liverpool 08 logo on an advertising hoarding he tows behind a vehicle.

The threat comes in the same month they contacted former Culture Company chief executive Jason Harborow for using the logo on the website of a consultancy firm he set up after leaving the company.

But Mr Tierney, who trades as Peter Quiggins from his antique dealership on Aigburth Road, claims the threats are unnecessary and heavy-handed.

He said: “I put the logo on my trailer and it says that the city has been sold off. It’s not the Capital of Culture, it’s the Capital of Vultures. I’ve even drawn the logo myself – when you look at it, you can tell I’ve drawn it.”

He said that he was making a political statement and should be allowed to exercise his right to free speech. Far from using the logo for his own ends, he said he was attempting to undermine what he sees as a false impression created by the Capital of Culture status.

Mr Tierney fought a long-running battle with the city council and developer Grosvenor, who wanted to use the Quiggins site on School Lane for the Liverpool One development. Despite thousands of people supporting his battle, the site was eventually built on.

It is not the first time Mr Tierney has used iconic images to publicise his battle. In 2002 he unveiled a massive banner which morphed his face with Che Guevara as he fought to survive the rebuild programme. However, his current links with the BNP have caused the Culture Company to take a dim view of his actions.

A spokesman said: “We do not affiliate ourselves to any political parties so we will not allow our logo to be used in this way.”

The letter sent to Mr Tierney, is almost identical to the one posted to Mr Harborow. That letter states that his use of the logo is an infringement of the company’s registered rights along with their intellectual property rights.

It adds: “We have advised our client further that they are entitled to institute infringement proceedings against you in respect of trade mark infringement.”

Liverpool Daily Post