Residents in the small South Wales town of Porth often quip that you never need to queue for a haircut there. This humorous observation holds more truth than fiction, as the town boasts an astonishing fourteen hair salons, yet finding another customer inside can be surprisingly difficult.
A Surplus of Salons in a Compact Community
The Daily Mail conducted a snap survey in Porth last Wednesday, examining its seemingly thriving haircare scene. With one salon for every 426 residents, the density is remarkable. This proliferation occurs against a backdrop of growing national scepticism regarding the boom in 'Turkish-style' barbershops. Police suspect a minority of these establishments serve as fronts for criminal enterprises.
National Crackdown and Local Opposition
Last year, the National Crime Agency led raids on hundreds of barbershops across the UK, resulting in dozens of arrests for offences including money laundering, drug dealing, and modern slavery. In Porth, Cold Fade opened eleven months ago as the fourteenth barber, facing significant local opposition at the time.
Today, Cold Fade presents an impressive facade with six bespoke blue chairs, each costing £700, arranged before circular mirrors, accompanied by a sound system playing rap music. However, during the midday period on a Wednesday, a critical element was absent: customers.
A Snapshot of Quiet Trade
Between 9:30 am and 2:00 pm, the Mail observed only four men enter Cold Fade for haircuts. If each opted for the standard £12 service, the day's takings would amount to a mere £48—insufficient to cover the wages of the single barber on duty, who earns above the minimum wage. The previous Wednesday painted a bleaker picture, with just one customer between 9:30 am and 1:00 pm.
Neighbouring businesses on Hannah Street have noted that staff at the plush-looking salon often spend their days "standing around." Less than 100 yards away, Porth Barbers welcomed only two customers between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on the same day.
It is crucial to emphasise that there is no evidence linking Cold Fade or any other barbershop mentioned in this report to illegal activities. A staff member at Cold Fade informed the Mail that Wednesdays are typically quiet and dismissed associations between barbers and crime as a "crazy stereotype."
Planning Permissions and Community Concerns
When a Cardiff-based Kurdish businessman applied for planning permission to convert a former amusement arcade into Cold Fade, the council received 34 letters of objection. Despite this, Rhondda Cynon Taff Council approved the application, arguing it would bring the property back into beneficial use and positively contribute to the wider retail centre.
Dan Parry, the 26-year-old chairman of Porth's Chamber of Trade, which opposed Cold Fade's establishment, contends the numbers "don't add up." Following next month's Senedd elections, Mr. Parry plans to urge the new Welsh Government to review planning laws to protect town centres from an overabundance of barbers, nail bars, vape shops, and tattoo parlours.
Calls for Legislative Reform
"I would question how planning laws can allow so many businesses to offer the same services," Mr. Parry told the Mail. "We need more diversity. We have too many hair salons and barbers in Porth, and the simple maths do not add up. It's a cause for concern, and you hear people's suspicions that barber shops are a front for illegal activity, but you can't prove that unless you have evidence to support it."
A local survey revealed that residents feel there is already an excessive number of certain businesses, such as fast-food takeaways, beauty parlours, and barber shops.
Varied Footfall and Government Intervention
Not all establishments in Porth experience such quiet trade. Lazaro barber shop on Pontypridd Road was notably busier, popular with teenagers seeking the latest styles. Yusifs on Hannah Street also had a few customers waiting. However, at Porth Barbers, the single stylist on duty last Wednesday endured over two hours without a single client.
An anonymous businessman on Hannah Street remarked, "Sometimes there are three of them in there doing nothing. They sit around a gas fire because it must get cold sitting down all day. If they were on their feet busy cutting hair all day, they would generate their own heat and keep warm. But they would have to have customers, and you hardly ever see anyone go in there."
New Powers for Local Authorities
The UK Government has pledged to grant councils enhanced powers to block unwanted shops in towns like Porth. While announcing these plans, ministers specifically referenced betting shops, vape stores, and 'fake barbers.'
Housing Secretary Steve Reed acknowledged that communities often have valid suspicions. "In many places in the country, you'll get people reporting many barbers suddenly opening up and not many people going in and getting their haircut," he told LBC. "Who knows what they front for, but neither the council nor the community has been able to stop them proliferating, but now they will have the power to restrict them."
When asked if he believed some shops were used for criminal activities like drug dealing or money laundering, Mr. Reed responded, "Well, we know that some of them are. I'm not going to say that about all of them, but some are. The key point is that communities need the power to stop them proliferating where that's a problem."
