Fury as tiny Welsh town with 5,970 inhabitants gets its FOURTEENTH barber shop and salon (one for every 400 people)

A Welsh municipality with lone 5,970 inhabitants has conscionable got different barber store - meaning it present has 14 hairsbreadth salons, oregon 1 for each 400 people.

Plans by a Kurdish businessman to unfastened a caller barber successful a vacant amusement arcade sparked choler among residents successful Porth, South Wales, who said their municipality was already 'saturated'.

But thirty-four abstracted letters of objection failed to person members of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT)'s readying committee to garbage the application, meaning it tin present spell up and open.

Opponents told the assembly that determination were already 13 hairsbreadth salons successful Porth, galore of them Turkish-style barbers, and that the dearth of different retail options was putting disconnected visitors.

Adding a fourteenth means determination volition present beryllium 1 for each 426 residents, based connected figures from the 2021 census.

There are a further six barber shops successful neighbouring towns of Blackwood and Newbridge - hardly 10 miles from Porth - wherever cut-throat contention led to mob violence earlier this year. While immoderate are Turkish themed, they are each tally by Kurds. 

The concerns travel aft constabulary person warned of criminals infiltrating the manufacture by mounting up shops arsenic beforehand companies to launder the proceeds of crimes similar cause dealing.

More than 750 barbers opened successful the UK past twelvemonth contempt a broader High Street downturn - raising suspicions that immoderate are being utilized by gangs.

Just past months, enforcement teams crossed the West Midlands raided a drawstring of Turkish barber shops and seized much than £500,000 successful amerciable currency during a crackdown connected wealth laundering.

Meanwhile unhappy customers person taken to TikTok to stock videos of their wonky haircuts and patchy tegument fades – imaginable signs of illicit businesses cynically co-opting the proud, centuries-old contented of Turkish barbering.

The newest barber successful Porth is opening successful a erstwhile amusement arcade connected Hannah Street, The Rhondda Herald reported. 

During a statement earlier Rhondda Cynon Taf's readying committee, Councillor Loretta Tomkinson pointed retired that determination were already plentifulness of barbers successful the municipality and that having adjacent much would marque it hard for them to crook a profit. 

Other critics said the fig of objections filed against the caller store understated the level of nationalist opposition. 

However, readying officers recommended support and said successful their report: 'The rule of commercialized improvement astatine the tract is acceptable and by bringing the spot backmost into beneficial use, would effect successful a affirmative publication towards the wider retail centre.

'Furthermore, the exertion is considered to comply with the applicable policies of the Local Development Plan successful respect of its ocular interaction and the interaction it has upon the amenity and privateness of the neighbouring residential properties.'

Hannah Street – 1 of Porth's 2 main roads - erstwhile boasted a Boots chemist, a Woolworth's, a Clarks footwear shop, women's manner stores and men's outfitters.

In March, a subdivision of manner store New Look which was based determination unopen its doors for good.

Even immoderate of the town's hairdressers present hold determination are excessively galore barbers. 

Barber Snur Abdulhmid, 18, who works astatine Porth Barbers successful Hannah Street, said: 'There are excessively many, we don't request different one.

'If determination are excessively many, no-one tin marque money.

'If it carries on, we'd person to adjacent the shop.'

Mr Abdulhmid said the barbers was a 'legitimate' business, though helium was alert that Turkish and Kurdish barbers are seen arsenic a beforehand for organised transgression and wealth laundering.

'That doesn't hap here, we wage taxation and VAT,' helium said.

There were nary customers erstwhile MailOnline visited connected a weekday day and immoderate of the men's salons were closed. 

David James, 76, a retired plumber and heating technologist from the town, said: 'I usage a section barber though I person thing against the others successful the municipality centre.

'It's ridiculous to person truthful galore barbers and hairsbreadth salons truthful adjacent to each other. It can't beryllium sustainable.

'It makes the municipality centre unattractive erstwhile you get truthful galore businesses each offering the aforesaid thing.'

Andy Murrains, 62, who opened up a café barroom successful Hannah Street six months agone aft moving from London, said: 'There's ever gossip and Chinese whispers astir immoderate of the places.

'This thoroughfare is not successful the presumption wherever it tin spend to suffer a fewer businesses, that's the world of it.' 

A survey conducted past twelvemonth by Porth and District Chamber of Trade recovered locals felt determination was already an over-abundance of definite businesses, 'such arsenic fast-food takeaways, quality parlours, and barber shops.'

After the enclosure of commercialized posted astir the exertion connected societal media, galore locals commented that determination were already plentifulness of barbers successful Porth.

One said: 'They are overrun with barbershops.'

'Does marque maine wonderment however they tin each enactment successful business,' Ian Heritage posted.

Another idiosyncratic added: 'Objection raised, much request to bash the same, this is getting beyond a joke.'