Small business getting undue hassle from WCBC
-
Posts
-
Just been forwarded this petition on Facebook. Shocking way to treat a small business trying to create their own jobs in these shaky economic times.
Wrexham borough council are refusing to let a local dog groomer continue to work from home. They say this is due to access concerns around the junction on the corner of the lane near her home. If there are any access concerns, then they should be met by the council for the sake of the residents who live in that lane anyway. However, no customer has reported any concerns, and previous businesses on the lane including the church (before it was converted into a house) had more traffic coming to their premises than ‘The Groom Room’, which only has one customer at a time.
Customer comments on Facebook Group ‘Save the Groom Room’ point out:
“I have been to the groom room a few times and never have i had a problem pulling out of that junction. Each time i have gone vehicles have never been an issue as i am the only customer there! So how has the likes of the post office in chirk been able to have there business where it is? You get more of a problem on the road there and is anything done about it?? Good luck steph you have put your heart into this business so nice to see such support!”
“Steph does an excellent job, I could understand if she had 5 or 6 cars turning up every 15 mins, but it’s 1 maybe 2 cars every couple of hours!!! Save the groom room!!!”
“Steph does an amazing job. If you do park outside her home its only for about a minute when dropping pet off. Good luck with your business Steph”
“I cannot believe that Steph Evans is having to go through this..all Steph wants to do is look after her clients animals which she does a fantastic job at it.all pet owners know that their animals are very well looked after from the minute they arrive. I have recommended her to family and friends as the job she does is fab”
“We need people who have the nerve to start their own business, and not be another drain on society. It’s hard work with an uncertain income, and certainly easier to claim benefits. As someone who works in a Welsh Government initiative to get the unemployed into work – why deliberately stop a successful business and push them to become another statistic, surely councils should be encouraging a business which is clearly needed”.
“I have been using the Groom Room for approx 12 months and always recommend it to everyone I speak to. One of the reasons for this is Steph works on a one to one basis with the dogs, therefore they are not distressed and don’t have to stay there longer than necessary. The whole time I have driven up there, I have never come across any problems with access or other traffic or pedestrians. It would be a terrible shame if others see upon themselves to halt what is an excellent service to all us who love our dogs”.
Steph Evans has worked really hard to build up her business from scratch, providing a caring and high quality of service, and is much appreciated by her returning customers. If you could take the time to sign this petition and add your comments, it would be much appreciated.
Is anyone surprised? This could jeopardise this girl’s business all due to overzealous big wigs who overspend astronomically then threaten cutbacks on essential services when it is their own fault in the first place. If anyone who is responsible for this absurd decision reads this for goodness sake get a grip and leave the girl alone.
I don’t know about the specifics of this business and the legalities of establishing this type of business in this particular house/home. In some similar cases it may just be that there are rules and regulations that have not been adhered to and this can be problematic.
In a case that has been brought to my attention this week (involving a Child minding business in Brymbo), I am familiar with the circumstances. The Entrepreneurial individual in this case had gone through all the correct procedures to operate a business from home. She is scrupulous in adhering to the rules and has complied absolutely. Today I was informed that she had received a letter through the post informing her of the Rules affecting her business concerning the number of children allowable at one session. Seemingly, following “observations” of her property, it had been brought to the attention of the Council that she may not be compliant.
The young Entrepreneur was upset by this letter and phoned the Council to explain that despite the “observations”, she was totally compliant with the various rules of the game. At this juncture, it appears that this response will suffice.
Extrapolating from the conversation, it seems clear that the so called “observations” have come from a nosy neighbour who may be “concerned” or, more worryingly, just one of those people who resent anyone getting on successfully. I have suggested to the young Entrepreneur that she writes to the Council and uses freedom of information requests to try and find out the nature of the “observations”. It would not seem right that someone might have anonymously misrepresented the actions of my friend and yet might remain hidden behind the veil of data protection (if this proves to be the case).
Anyone else got any views on these things?
A councillor or politician should start up a small business from scratch & run it successfully for three years before taking office. That way they would know the hoops that small businesses have to jump through & would also be a lot more careful with our money.
Firstly, it is the Officers of the Council who implement the laws and set guidelines, not the Councillors. But in this instance it would appear that they are being over zealous and dogmatic in their approach, if the one sided narrative of the situation is factually accurate.
Regarding zinger’s point, I fail to see how running a small business would adequately equip an individual to run a multi million pound organisation effectively. By implication, there would be bias towards their ‘well being’ to the detriment of others facets of the Councils’ responsibilities.
Or perhaps Councillors should only be recruited from the ranks of accountants, educationalists, people reliant on Social Services etc? Where would their priorities lie?
No thank you. I am quite happy that Councils’ are made up of a cross section of the population, who ostensibly represent all levels of our society, however much some of the decisions made appear to be contrary to expectations.
To paraphrase a famous quote:-
‘You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time …….’
Look back to the 1800’s to see what happened when artisans were the ‘ruling class’ and the instability that occurred until we evolved to where we are today…..a democracy…. For the people by the people.What does Wrexham want and need?
https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/assets/pdfs/consultations/key_issues_for_wcbc.pdf
If this is one piece of material that we’re working to, then job prospects and earnings to meet the cost of living, are in the top five. Small business to be effective must be competitive with those in the locality or region; how does the economy of Wrexham perform in its region of say 50 to 100 miles travel time, and what should we do to make it better? Surely we should be supporting small business?
If Wrexham is talking about a brand, what will Wrexham’s customers and competitors make about what we do … are we in front of the game, or are they in front of us?
https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/assets/pdfs/consultations/branding_and_communications_results.pdf
Wrexham has a number of strategies and consultation documents … but are these acting as “a WHOLE” and “as ONE” and in accord with the revenue and spend of Wrexham Council … while a Council cannot determine the performance of a local economy, by its democratically elected position, it does set the framework for success or failure.
I am that very dog groomer . I decided to work from home as I also care for my mum . I only do 4 dogs a day, 5 days a week . enough to cover my bills. The building regulations are up to standard . But sadly I can’t do anything about the junction . Other business have been run from this lane including a post office and right opposite the junction the house used to run a taxi business from home . There is no problem being caused by my business and I don’t see why they can’t put a sign up on the lane coming up from the farm warning that there’s a double junction. I have been overwhelmed by peoples support . Because I’ve had no support or help from the planning dept . In fact he actually sounded surprised that i was even bothering to appeal their decision . This is my lively hood and if they make me close . I will have relatives driving up here checking up on my mum anyway . I am just simply refusing to close my business I love my job and just as everything is up and running im told I have to close it for something thats not even my fault .
You have my total sympathy with your plight, but what you need more than that, is the support of your local Councillor. He, if worthy of his salt, should have the ability to get to the root of the reasoning behind the decision and knock a few heads together so that common sense and natural justice can prevail.
I wish you well in your endeavour.@zinger 10017 wrote:
A councillor or politician should start up a small business from scratch & run it successfully for three years before taking office. That way they would know the hoops that small businesses have to jump through & would also be a lot more careful with our money.
An interesting idea. It is certainly statistically the case in Wales that the percentage of Enterprises that are classified as SME is 99.9% and it might make sense for people who are about to run the affairs of a local Council to have evidence that they can actually run something. I do actually look for evidence on polling day that the person who I vote for has facets that make them vote worthy.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
