How crumbling building has been allowed to rot
THREE-STOREY TOWN CENTRE SITE HAS BEEN DERELICT FOR YEARS
IN THE heart of Bridgend town centre sits a blackened shell of a building.
The three-storey site at 53 Nolton Street – known locally as The Ranch – is a mess of boarded-up windows, gaping holes and heaped debris. Health and safety fencing blocks the pavement, forcing pedestrians to cross to the other side. It is a bizarre sight on an important shopping street.
Fire ravaged the former chip shop in April 2020, but its problems stretch back further. Owner Abdul Muhith had ignored Bridgend council’s pleas to address what was an empty eyesore even before the blaze.
Police believe the fire was started deliberately, though no suspect was identified.
The building, which dates back to 1905, continues to rot – and nearby businesses have had enough.
Something must be done, they say, either by the owner or the council.
“It’s a very bad view from the shop,” said Sarko Hassani, a barber at Golden Cut opposite The Ranch. “All the customers look at it and say, ‘It’s horrible, why is it like that, why do they not knock it down?’.”
Bridgend council said it was considering legal action against the owner, although our Freedom of Information request shows the council has not sent Mr Muhith a notice demanding improvement since 2020.
It is not known why Mr Muhith has failed to take action. The 42-year-old has not responded to approaches for comment.
What we know from Companies House is that in 2018 he was disqualified from being a company director for six years because of his “conduct” while running Bombay Spice, a Swansea business which has since closed down.
It was 2011 when Mr Muhith bought The Ranch for £110,000, according to Land Registry documents. Google Street View from that year shows the unit was a restaurant called Mumbai King. It later became an Italian restaurant called Franco’s but the site appears to have been empty since 2015.
The council wrote to Mr Muhith in April 2019 asking for his “co-operation” to improve the site’s condition.
Three months later the council issued a notice saying there had been “no significant improvement”.
The notice told Mr Muhith to make changes including removing old wooden boards and a tarpaulin, repainting concrete and reglazing windows and doors.
Mr Muhith failed to do so. Then the fire in April 2020 made the building a safety risk.
The council stepped in with emergency work to remove loose roof tiles, damaged guttering and other debris which could have fallen to the street below.
The council had to act again in October that year, telling Mr Muhith it would remove a dangerous piece of timber overhanging nearby properties.
Two weeks later Mr Muhith, of West Cross in Swansea, admitted failing to comply with the council’s warning from 2019.
He was ordered to pay £462 at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court.
Calls for urgent action are now growing louder. Mr Hassani from Golden Cut Barbers believes the eyesore makes the town centre less attractive to shoppers.
Although the council does not consider the building a “dangerous structure”, Mr Hassani, 19, said he would like to see it make a compulsory purchase of the site.
“We’ve been here almost three years and it’s been empty all that time,” he added.
“I’d like the council to knock it down or a new shop to be there, a new pub, anything. It just should not stay like that.”
Kelly Western, who opened nearby chip shop O’ My Cod in May last year, said: “It’s just an eyesore. It would be better even if it was flats, anything except half a building.”
She called for the council to “just get it tidy”, adding: “Something definitely needs to be done with it. I was speaking to the mayor of Bridgend when he cut the ribbon for our shop, and he said the owner won’t do anything with it.
“I don’t think it’s had an impact on business but if you worked here you would think, ‘ Oh God, it’s depressing.’
“People walking on that side of the road can’t get past it because the fencing goes over the pavement.
“They have to either walk in the road or cross over.”
What would she say to Mr Muhith?
“Do something with it or sell it to somebody who wants to do something,” she replied.
Bridgend council said in December last year that it was “working closely” with its legal team as it looked to “take the next steps on addressing the issue”.
A council spokesman said at the time: “Prior to the fire, the owner was served with a Section 215 maintenance notice by the council with a requirement to improve the condition of the building within a certain timeframe. “The owner was also made aware of potential grant funding available from the local authority to help refurbish the building.
“With improvements not having been carried out and the building continuing to deteriorate, the local authority is now considering further legal action to return this historical building to its former glory.”
Approached for a new statement last week, the council said there was no update on the previous one. The council was asked why it had not issued any warnings or notices to Mr Muhith since the October 2020 letter about the loose timber and also whether it was considering a compulsory purchase order, but it did not add anything further.
Speaking about the 2020 fire, a South Wales Fire Service spokeswoman said the structure of the building was “deemed unsafe to conduct a fire investigation” but it was suspected to be deliberate.
And a South Wales Police spokesman said: “It was treated as a deliberate fire and all available lines of inquiry were followed up at the time, but no suspect could be identified and no arrests were made.
“Of course, if anybody has information about the incident they can contact us via 101 and give reference *129055. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
I was speaking to the mayor of Bridgend when he cut the ribbon for our shop, and he said the owner won’t do anything with it
Kelly Western