Potentially dangerous new buildings - the questions Cardiff Council must answer

Cardiff Civic Society are concerned to have it confirmed in the South Wales Echo (29 March 2021) that Cardiff council has not had a building control operational manager since at least September 2020.

Cardiff Civic Society are concerned to have it confirmed in the South Wales Echo (29 March 2021) that Cardiff council has not had a building control operational manager since at least September 2020.  
A spokesperson for the Council said Mr James Clemence, the head of planning is now responsible for that role.  The Civic Society believes that this does not provide sufficient capacity for such an important role.  
Cardiff Council now has to answer the following questions:

- What steps is the council taking to recruit an operational manager for building control?
- How long has this post been vacant?
- In the the absence of an operational manager, who is responsible for being available, on call, to deal with the control of dangerous buildings during and outside normal working hours?
- Likewise, who is responsible  for the instigation of legal proceedings in the event of contraventions of the Building Regulations and also represent the Council in Court in any such case and to assist the Council’s solicitors in the preparation of the case?
- Likewise, who is responsible for exercising delegated powers in relation to the approval, rejection, or relaxation of applications submitted under the Building Regulations?
- Finally, is the decision to leave this post vacant part of a deliberate policy on behalf of the council to make the planning and regulatory environment as lax as possible to encourage an increased amount of property development in the city?

In answer to freedom of information requests from the Civic Society, Cardiff Council published its organisational charts for September 2020 and February 2021 on WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Both charts show that post of operational manager for building control as 'vacant'. 

A recent report by Unchecked exposed a huge ‘enforcement gap’ in Wales, with many regulators struggling to fulfil their statutory duties.  Unchecked describes itself as an organisation making the case for common-sense protections which help keep people safe and allow businesses to thrive. The report calls on Wales’ political parties to commit to maintaining and strengthening public standards and protections ahead of the 2021 elections