• Liverpool's largest department store, Lewis's, is threatening to close rather than spend £600,000 on fire safety improvements required by the council (page 1). The store eventually closed in 2010.

• Liberal councillor and landlord Michael Hefferon is ousting sitting tenants in order to benefit from government grants (pages 1, 6 and 7).

• There's also a full-page inquest into the collapse of the Civic Centre project after a government inspector refuses planning permission. The inspector's report says: "The proposed building, because of its alignment, overpowering bulk, scale and severe uncompromising regularity, would be oppressive and tend to overwhelm the elegant assembly of neo-classical buildings in their setting in the conservation area." (page 8).

Other items …

• The closure of Tinling's printing firm, and Robert Maxwell's mysterious involvement (pages 1 and 4).

• How to get out of the army if you don't like what's happening in Northern Ireland (page 2) Liverpool Echo objects to council-planted trees blocking the view of a sign advertising the newspaper (page 3).

• Council tenants continue protests against rent rises (page 4).

• A look at firms competing for the commercial radio franchise in Liverpool (page 5).

• Black lawyer unable to practise after losing his British citizenship when Cameroon left the Commonwealth (page 10).

• Historical note: An advertisement on page 10 makes the first mention of what would shortly become News from Nowhere bookshop. Its founder, Bob Dent, had begun selling political pamphlets by mail order and the Free Press also had a display of them on sale at its office, then in Seel Street. The opening of the shop itself, on May Day 1974, is advertised in issue 15.

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