STOCKTON SYNDROME
ANGER AS LICENCE IS REFUSED TO DRIVE SHROPSHIRE TAXI
A would-be taxi driv- er has hit out at Shropshire Council after he spent £3,000 in a failed attempt to win a licence to work in Bridgnorth. According to the Shropshire
ident
work mostly in Bridgnorth.
intended to The
Star,
Pavinder Banggar said the council awarded him his badge in January and told him he needed to buy a car before it could con- sider granting him his licence plates. But last month it turned down the his application because it was not convinced that the Oldbury res-
council is cracking down on the number of licences it issues for drivers from out- side the area after seeing a huge rise in applications. Coun- cillors are concern- ed they cannot keep an eye on vehicles if they are not working in the county. But Mr Banggar said he had offered to keep
detailed
records proving that he was operating in Shropshire. He said his home was less than 20 miles from
where he intended to work, and he had spent up to £3,000 on his application and car. He applied for licence plates in April but by the end of May his applica- tion had been rejected. Cllr Steve Charmley said: “Persons wish- ing to apply for drivers’ licences are informed before they make an application that if they live some distance away from Shropshire that any subsequent vehicle licence application would not necessari- ly be granted.”
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TYNESIDE FIRM FAILS TO WIN JUDICIAL REVIEW INTO LICENSING REGULATIONS
Taxi wars took a new twist after cabbies failed to bring a judi- cial review against a council. Blueline Taxis took Nor thumber land County Council to court over changes to licensing laws. But a judge ruled the changes, which could stop Northum- berland
drivers
working outside the county, were lawful. The hearing was the latest in a long-run- ning row over taxi licensing in the North East. In 2008, Newcastle City Council took the former Berwick Borough Council to court after Tyneside- based taxi drivers claimed their liveli- hoods were being threatened. Drivers travelled to Berwick to get cheaper
badges
resulting in more than 400 taxis with plates issued in the town working for private hire firms in Newcastle
and
North Tyneside. A High Court judge ruled Berwick Coun- cil had to consider where taxis were likely to work before issuing a licence. And when Northum-
berland merged into a joint authority, bosses took the rul- ing on board and voted to change the priorities for giving licences to favour drivers who do most of their work in the county. Anyone who applied for a licence but admitted they wouldn’t be plying for hire in Northum- berland would be likely to be refused. And, while hackney carriages could still do private hire work for a company based in a different borough,
they
would be forced to keep a record of their pick-ups. Blueline, one of Tyneside’s biggest taxi companies with a fleet of 600 cars, complained
the
changes interfered with the right of hackney carriage drivers to complete private hire work without a licence. The Wallsend-based company asked for a judicial review of the policy changes. But after a hearing in Leeds, Judge Mr Justice Foskett dis- missed
their
application. He said: “Northum- berland has a good
number of hackney carriages that rarely, if ever, ply for hire within its area and spend most, if not all, of
their time
engaged in work outside its area act- ing for private hire operators
over
which it has no con- trol. “The testing and inspection of
the
hackney carriages it has licensed is ren- dered more difficult. This local control is intended for the pro- tection
of the
travelling public.” He said the High Court ruling obliged councils to check whether taxis were planning to work exclusively outside their area and gave them the ability to refuse licences as a result. Ian Shanks, manag- ing director of Blueline, has previ- ously criticised the law. He said: “The legis- lation is antiquated, unclear and out-of- date. Blueline has been campaigning for many years for new taxi
laws
because the current laws that date from 1847 are simply out of date.”
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