A number of businesses close to the former Ibis Hotel in Cardiff said their staff no longer feel safe after the local authority started using the building as a hostel for the homeless.
Cardiff Council, which acquired the former hotel on Tyndall Street close to city centre for £12.8m, used emergency planning legislation for the building to provide accommodation to homeless people. It is now seeking retrospective planning consent to turn what was 157-bedroom hotel into a 98-bedroom residency for the homeless for the next three years.
The former hotel has been used to provide temporary accommodate to the homeless since the turn of this year, during which time nearby businesses said they have witnessed a rise in anti-social behaviour with one firm, TrakCel, warning that if the council grant consent, it could be forced to relocate out of Wales.
Law firm Geldards, which has its headquarters at the nearby Capital Quarter office led development, said the hostel's location was entirely inappropriate at the heart of what is a thriving business district for the city.
In lodging an objection, associate partner with the firm, Charles Felgate, said the change of use was enacted without prior consultation or planning consent.
He added: "Overnight the lbis hotel signs disappeared (last December) and significant anti-social behaviour problems began. These behaviours have had a significant negative detrimental impact on the neighbourhood.
"Our clients now gain a negative impression on visiting our offices. For a firm like Geldards, where client experience is a critical part of our service offering, the deterioration in the local environment has impacted business confidence and our reputation. In addition, our fantastic staff, on whom our reputation rests, are scared. That is not unreasonable (objection). We have monitored the situation closely and there has been a notable trend in both the volume and types of incidents since the hostel use commenced.
"The shift in crime types is significant and is something we as a business have had to take into account when reviewing our risk assessment procedures for both colleagues and visitors, including late night working. If continued, the proposals will also likely prevent attracting similar investment from other professional services or corporate occupiers into the area.
"Our conclusion in the pre-app response was that a hostel use is entirely unsuited to the location and we have significant concerns about it continuing. We have had similar feedback from a number of our neighbouring businesses. "
Life sciences firm TrakCel said its investors could decide to relocate the business out of Wales if the planning application is approved. Its chief executive Ravi Nalliah said over the last five years, based on the combined gross earnings of staff, it has had a £20m economic impact on the Cardiff economy.
In an objection letter to the council he said: "TrakCel has proudly operated from its Cardiff headquarters for over a decade, employing approximately 70 highly-skilled professionals who provide software solutions to global pharmaceutical and life-sciences companies. However, the worsening environment surrounding Tyndall Court has left us in an increasingly untenable position. Despite this sustained economic contribution, we are now in the deeply concerning position where staff have told me they no longer feel safe attending the office.
"Public drug use, aggressive behaviour, and congregation around the building have become daily occurrences. As chief executive I have a legal and moral duty to ensure staff safety. Given the current situation, we are now actively exploring the relocation of our headquarters.
"This would involve significant disruption and cost, but may be unavoidable to protect staff wellbeing. Relocation would also trigger a strategic review with our US-based private equity investors, potentially leading to a shift of operations outside Wales. This is not something we want. We would far prefer to remain in Cardiff and continue contributing to the local economy and innovation landscape."
Retail Merchandising Services (RMS) has also lodged an objection, claiming the plans run counter to the council's local development plan (LPD) under its policies of community safety and cohesive communities.
In its submission it said: "Since the property began operating under its current use, we have experienced a significant and sustained increase in antisocial behaviour and loitering in the surrounding area, creating an atmosphere of unease and directly impacting staff safety and wellbeing.
"As a local employer operating within the central business area, RMS is concerned that this proposal will further damage the business environment and deter investment and occupancy within this part of Cardiff. While we recognise the urgent need for supported accommodation in the city, the chosen location is unsuitable given the mixed commercial and office-based character of this area and the existing strain on local amenity. We therefore respectfully request that the council refuse planning application."
Specialist engineering consultancy, Sustainable Energy, has also lodged an objection. In a letter director Chrissy Woodman , said: "We no longer feel able to receive clients at our offices as there are so many of these incidents and crimes taking place which reflect badly on our business.
"Our staff, particularly our more junior staff have expressed great concern about working in this environment and feel shocked and intimidated by the actions of the Ibis residents. Most staff are now reluctant to be around the estate after dark which is now starting to really cause issues as we head into winter."
She added: "Just before the temporary use of the Ibis for this purpose we purchased a second office on the estate to accommodate a planned expansion of our business, but now we are very concerned that the issues we are experiencing will impact our ability to recruit the staff we need for our planned expansion.
"Also as part of our social value policy, we offer work placements to six formers considering an engineering career. Since these incidents began, we have not offered any work placements as we do not believe the estate offers a safe environment for minors."
Similar objections have also been lodged by Prostate Cymru and the Royal College of Midwives in Wales,
As the planning application is live Cardiff Council said it was unable to comment on the lodged objections.
