PROPERTY investors who have benefited from a 50 per cent council tax discount have targeted Butetown and Grangetown as prime locations for purchasing second homes in Cardiff.

The two districts south of the city centre have more than a quarter of the capital’s unoccupied furnished properties. Butetown has 553 and Grangetown 295. At the other end of the scale, St Mellons and St Fagans have only 11 and six second homes.

Up to now these second homes and those properties unoccupied between lets have been eligible for a 50 per cent reduction in their council tax. But from next month the city’s 2,795 unoccupied furnished properties will be liable for the full amount.

Unstaffed tanning salons could soon be outlawed after a proposal by Cardiff North MP Julie Morgan today moved a step closer to becoming law.

The Sunbeds (Regulation) Bill would also make it illegal for people under the age of 18 to use sunbeds, with a fine of up to £20,000 for any salons caught breaking the law.

Cardiff councillors charged the taxpayer over £30 every day in travel expenses during the last financial year.

Forty per cent of the bill came from taxi charges after councillors argued the public transport in the city, including the council-owned Cardiff Bus, was not good enough.

Cardiff Council could be in line for a major shake up following draft proposals to redraw ward boundaries, in a move which one councillor labelled “gerrymandering”.

THE FAMILY of the Cardiff woman who was found dead earlier this week have paid tribute to her, saying she “still had a lot to give.”
Fifty two-year-old Karen Welsh was found in her home in Lowfield Drive, Thornhill, on Tuesday after police forced entry.
She had fatal injuries and her death has prompted a police murder investigation.
The family, paying tribute to Mrs Welsh, said: “We’re a small family who have suffered a big loss.
“She was a wonderful, career-driven woman who gave a lot and still had a lot …

TALKS between parents and councillors last night in Cardiff over controversial school plans led to Jonathan Morgan AM accusing the council of acting illegally.
The English-speaking junior school Eglwys Newydd, in Whitchurch, is at the heart of the issue and parents from this school and the Welsh speaking, Ysgol Melin Gruffydd primary school school have been embroiled in bitter arguments since October when the plans were first announced.
The plans involve the closure of the junior and primary schools sites of Eglwys Newydd and students from the school having to move to …

“Progressive” is not a term often applied to religion, but it is the cornerstone of belief for Cardiff’s Bahá’í community.
Bahá’ísm is one of the world’s youngest faiths, and its message is simple: all the world’s transcendent figures – such as Jesus, the Prophet Muhammad, Krishna, and Buddha – are true messengers from God, and are part of a recurring phenomenon of leaders sent to earth to spread His word.
In other words, Bahá’ísm is interfaith because it integrates the key figures of all religions, believing they are all sent by the …

Cardiff residents face a council tax hike after South Wales Police approved a five per cent rise in the amount they request for their annual budget. The decision to endorse the £257 million budget will add more than £7 to the annual council tax bill of the average home in the city.
The rise is a pre-emptive move to bolster the police’s resources after Chief Constable Peter Vaughan warned the force could be “facing a financial black hole in the next few years” with significant cuts expected from 2011. Addressing South …

Celebrity musicians have been flocking to a drum shop in north Cardiff.

After it was announced as one of Wales’s top restaurants last year, Cardiff’s prime Indian eatery Mint and Mustard is preceded by its reputation.

But those diners expecting the restaurant in Whitchurch Road, Gabalfa, to have its head in the clouds and away from ordinary visitors will be happily proved wrong.

The lease of a community centre in Cardiff is to be reduced to 12 months following an announcement at a residents’ association meeting.

Llandaff North Community Association (LCNA), which holds the lease on the Llandaff North community centre, previously had a five-year lease but a decision has been made by the council to reduce it.

Many groups of all ages use the community hall including, dance classes, local business meetings, adult education groups and organised parties. If the hall is lost there will be no other location to hold such events.

Llandaff North is to get a fresh lick of paint with the introduction of The Boiler House, a graffiti project organised by a Cardiff group called Peaceful Progress.
Bryce Davies, 26, a founding member of Peaceful Progress, has recently bought an old boiler house on Andrews Road which has been gutted and painted white to use as a free art space.
Mr Davies needed to buy a new studio space and decided to open up the area for the public.
The site consists of an art gallery, supplies store and a huge studio …