A councillor stormed out of a meeting with Liverpool FC chiefs, branding it a ‘waste of time’.
Harry Doyle was one of eight local politicians to hold talks with Anfield officials on Monday over the club’s long-term plans for their current training ground.
But the 22-year-old chose to leave the discussions, which he claims were billed as a consultation by the club over the future of their Melwood training ground .
The Reds are currently on course to leave their long-standing West Derby base in summer 2020 for a new £50 million purpose-built complex located in Kirkby.
As part of the process, 160 new homes are set to be built on the existing Melwood site despite calls from local residents to retain it as a community facility.
Cllr Doyle, who represents the Knotty Ash ward, took to Twitter to confirm he had walked out on discussions with the club over Melwood’s planned legacy.
He said: “Absolute waste of time meeting LFC over Melwood.
“They called it consultation, it was telling us what they are doing with total disregard for the communities’ concerns.
“They don’t care about West Derby, they don’t want any legacy. I walked out, what a waste of time.
“Asked what their vision was, LFC stated they would get back to us when they’ve signed the deal off with their preferred developer.
“That’s not consultation #BadNeighbour.”
In response to Cllr Doyle’s claims, an LFC spokesman said: “The sale of the Melwood site is a key part of club’s future plans to bring together the first team and Academy football training operations on one site in a new world-class training campus.
“We applied to Liverpool City Council for outline planning consent to redevelop the Melwood site back in July 2017.
“The views of the local community are important to us and part of the planning process included a consultation with just under 3,000 local residents and businesses contacted in the area.
“The views and feedback from local residents were included in the application process and the Council’s Planning Committee granted permission in December 2017.”
He added: “Following the approval of the outline plans, we have been in discussions with potential developers and are approaching the final stages of the sales process.
“The successful developer will then submit detailed proposals for the site which will be open to further consultation.
“The sale of the Melwood site enables us to continue reinvesting into the squad and infrastructure to support our ambitions, both on and off the pitch.
“Yesterday we met with local representatives and extended the meeting to other ward councillors who have recently expressed an interest in the site.
“They raised a number of issues, including the legacy of the Melwood site, which we have taken away to consider.”