Cardiff Council prosecutes landlord

Posted by Now Cardiff on Oct 16, 2012

Cardiff Council has successfully prosecuted a landlord following breaches of the Housing Act 2004 and the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations (Wales) 2006.

The landlord, Gary Samuel of Enfield, Middlesex was fined a total of £3000. He was also ordered to pay Cardiff Council’s costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £15.

Mr Samuel’s four-bedroom property at 7 Corporation Road, Grangetown, Cardiff was initially identified by council officers to have failed to comply with a number of minimum legal standards required for the type of rented accommodation offered to its residents. Therefore, an improvement notice was served under Section 11 of the Housing Act 2004 requiring the landlord to undertake works to meet the necessary standards.

However, a further visit confirmed that the required works had not been completed. In addition, five failures to comply with the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations (Wales) 2006 were noted, including a dangerous electrical installation, a defective heating and hot water system, condensation damp and mould, and a water damaged ceiling.

Councillor Lynda Thorne, Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing and Social Justice, said: “We will never accept private sector tenants being directly exploited by landlords who force them to live in dangerous and unacceptable conditions. Good landlords have nothing to fear but for the bad ones, this a clear message they must clean up their act.”

Mr. Samuel did not attend court on the 2nd October 2012 and the case was heard in his absence. He was convicted of all charges. The fine was apportioned as:

Charge 1 (Failing to comply with improvement notice) £600

Charge 2 (Electrical installation dangerous condition) £600

Charge 3 (Ceiling lounge water damaged) £200

Charge 4 (Rear garden not in good order) £400

Charge 5 (Central heating / hot water system not working) £600

Charge 6 (Bedrooms suffering condensation/mould) £600

Groups benefit from grant scheme

Posted by Now Cardiff on Oct 4, 2012

Community buildings across the city are to benefit from grants awarded by Cardiff Council.

Voluntary groups were invited to apply for a grant, under the Council’s Community Building Grants Programme.

A total of 15 grants were awarded under this year’s programme and will help local groups across the city to improve community buildings and provide better facilities.

Around £50,000 will go towards paying for a wide range of improvements including toilet refurbishments, window replacement, new heating systems, health and safety improvements and access improvements for disabled users.

One of the groups to benefit is St Fagans Village Hall, which received a grant for a new disabled toilet. Frances Lewis of the Village Hall said: “We are very pleased with the Community Building Grant, which will help us to further enhance our building and offer services to an ever wider number of people in the local community.”

Cardiff Council’s Community Building Grants Programme has been running for over ten years for the purpose of supporting local voluntary groups in providing and improving community buildings.

Councillor Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing and Social Justice, said: “The Council recognises the important role that voluntary sector organisations play in running community buildings across the city. We are delighted to be able to help so many groups carry out improvements for the benefit of the people and communities that use them.”

The fastest growing firm in Cardiff is…

Posted by Now Cardiff on Oct 3, 2012

Williams PM Electrical Limited, a Cardiff-based mechanical and electrical contractor, has been crowned the fastest-growing business in Cardiff.

Formed in 2009, the company employs highly skilled electricians, experienced in all aspects of domestic and commercial electrical work.

The main core of business is focused within the social housing sector, covering most regions throughout Wales. It also has a reasonably sized commercial section, carrying out projects up to £1.5m in refurbishment, rebuild and new build projects.

The business started with 25 employees and now employs a staggering 110 staff.

Williams PM Electrical was presented with its award by category sponsors, Cardiff Council, in front of 450 business people at the prestigious Fast Growth 50 Awards 2012 held in Cardiff.

The Wales Fast Growth 50 initiative, which was started 14 years ago to recognise the best of Welsh indigenous business, showcases companies that are making a real difference within their sectors and, more importantly during the current economic climate, are creating jobs within their local communities.

The 50 Welsh companies featuring on this year’s list will have collectively created 9,400 jobs since they were started, which is an incredible achievement.

Paul Lewis, Director of Williams PM Electrical, said:  “We are highly honoured to have won this prestigious award. The past three years have been very challenging for us and we as a company have overseen many obstacles. We would like to show our gratitude to all our staff for their hard work throughout this period and thank all our clients for their continuing support. We hope we can continue in this manner for many years to come and look forward to new challenges ahead.”

Executive member for Finance, Business and Local Economy Cllr Russell Goodway said: “I’m delighted to see Williams PM Electrical win the fastest growing firm in Cardiff accolade, as part of the Fast Growth 50 Awards.  The current climate for our businesses is very challenging and Williams PM Electrical are showcasing great success in these difficult times.

“Following from the recent Nesta report showing that Cardiff has one of the highest percentages of high growth of any city in the UK, it demonstrates that Cardiff is a great place to do business.  Fast growth firms need a platform to build upon their success and Cardiff is providing that to our businesses with great results.  The Fast Growth 50 initiative is a constant reminder of the entrepreneurial potential that exists within Cardiff and the rest of Wales, with growth performance by innovative businesses, which is as good as any to be found across the regions of the rest of the UK.”

For more information on the this year’s Fast Growth 50 Awards and all the winners, please visit www.fastgrowth50.com

Fairwater Leisure Centre opens its doors after refurbishment project

Posted by Now Cardiff on Sep 21, 2012

Following the refurbishment of Fairwater Leisure Centre, customers are invited to attend a free open weekend to view the new modern facility.

On Saturday 22 and Sunday 23, September between 11.30am and 4pm customers can come along and try out the new leisure facilities as well as learn what activities and classes are now on offer at the centre.

Cabinet Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Huw Thomas said: “Fairwater Leisure Centre is almost 30 years old and is at the heart of the local community.

“This refurbishment has improved  the facility extensively not only demonstrating the Council’s commitment to providing facilities which match the standard of the private sector, but also making leisure and sporting activities more accessible to everyone.

“The open day is a great opportunity for families in the area and local community to come along and enjoy what is on offer at this excellent, new facility.”

The renovated leisure centre now boasts a state-of-the-art air conditioned fitness room with approximately 30 new exercise stations including a variety of cardio vascular machines, power plates and load and loose weight equipment.

There is also a new licensed coffee shop, a dance studio and a multi purpose activity room.

There will be free fitness sessions for the adults including step, circuits, boxercise, zumba, pilates, yoga, spin, line dancing and kettlebells.

Mums-to-be can enjoy free Bump into Action anti natal sessions and there will be fun activities provided for children on Sunday, 23 September.

Visitors over 18 attending the open weekend can enter a competition to win six months free membership with full access to the new leisure facilities.

The Fairwater Leisure Centre refurbishment is one of a number of improvements to leisure centres to be carried out across the city over the next year.

This includes the refurbishment of Eastern Leisure Centre and additional improvements to be carried out on Pentwyn and Llanishen Leisure Centres.

Times of classes can be found on the facility programme at the leisure centre or at www.cardiff.gov.uk/leisure or call 029 2055 2210.

 

Cardiff named as one of top cities in UK for business growth

Posted by Now Cardiff on Sep 14, 2012

Recently published research by NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) has revealed that Cardiff has the second highest concentration of high growth firms out of the 62 UK cities it analysed.

High growth firms, or ‘gazelles’ as are they are commonly known, make up just seven per cent of all UK businesses, but in Cardiff the figure is an impressive 11 per cent. This equates to 35 companies who are all vital to the local economy as high growth firms generate around half of all new jobs and are particularly resilient during a recession.

Gazelles were defined in the research as those firms having achieved an annual employment growth of 20 per cent of more per annum between 2007-10.

Because they make a disproportionate contribution to economic growth, it is important that any city economy features a high percentage of high-growth firms.

In Cardiff the sector providing the largest amount of gazelles was business services, followed by the construction and hotel and restaurant sectors.

Business Services is a large sector within the UK economy, with about 23 per cent of all firms and 15 per cent of employment falling into this category. It also includes legal firms, accountants, architects and engineering consultants, management and business consultants, advertising, technical testing, market research, recruitment companies, security businesses and cleaning businesses.

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