ROUNDTHECOUNCILS ABERDEEN:


NOTTINGHAM: SUPPORT FOR NEW RANK BID


Licensing chiefs could be poised to make a policy u-turn on pro- posals for a fourth nighttime rank in Aberdeen city centre. According to the Aberdeen Evening Ex- press, the proposed rank in the the bus layby on Castle Street


would operate between midnight and 5am. And Aberdeen’s taxi consultation group has been told the proposal has broad support. In March 2009, similar plans were rejected due to cost. The change of heart is down to a deci- sion to close taxi ranks


on side streets overnight to assist in the management of city centre revellers.


Aberdeen City Council officer Scott Ramsay said funding had already been secured. The licensing commit- tee is due to meet on September 15.


NORTH DEVON: LICENCE GRANTED DESPITE VEHICLE’S AGE


A taxi driver in South Molton has been granted a hackney carriage licence despite his vehicle being too old to fulfil conditions.


Guidance in North Devon Council’s hack- ney carriage licensing policy states licences should not be given if the vehicle is older than five years. But


Wayne Hyde, of South Molton Taxi Service Ltd, was awarded the licence by the council’s licensing sub-commit- tee. They said his eight-seater Ford Tour- neo, which was just over five years old, was in a good condition and had a low mileage. The North Devon Jour- nal reports that Mr Hyde appeared before


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the committee be- cause VOSA, with whom he was previ- ously licensed, no longer deals with eight-seater vehicles. The sub-committee recognised Mr Hyde was only before the committee because of this change in law. Mr Hyde told the hearing he had operated his business since 1979.


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Disruption by protest- ing cab drivers has been avoided after Derby City Council reached an agreement over taxi rank spaces. The city centre was brought to a standstill last month, when more than 50 taxi drivers staged a go-slow protest over the removal of a temporary rank in the Morledge. In a bid to resolve the row, Cllr Chris Poulter, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, met Derby Area Taxi Opera-


ILLEGAL CABBIES PAY THE PRICE


In the last two months, ten Nottingham City private hire drivers have been prosecuted for the offence of ille- gally plying for hire and driving without appropriate insurance. They have been ordered to pay a total of £5,340 between them and issued with a mas- sive 52 penalty points


on their DVLA licences, averaging at eight points per offender. Tony Charlesworth, Senior Taxi Licensing Enforcement Officer, Community Protec- tion, said: “We work with a host of partners, including Community Protection Officers and police officers in these operations.


DERBY: HOPE OF RANK SPACE TO HALT PROTESTS


tors’ Association, offi- cers and a rep- resentative of the coun- cil’s licensing committee. Mr Poulter said offi- cers would be looking at various options to find space for drivers but said that there was none available in the Morledge immediately. The meeting was criti- cised by taxi asso- ciation representative Javed Khan who said he remained dissatis- fied and that drivers needed to know when


HULL: COUNCIL DOES A U­TURN ON TAXI APPLICATION


A farmer has won a red tape battle to get his “Chelsea tractor” registered as a private hire vehicle. Chris Fewson lodged an appeal against Hull City Council’s decision to refuse a licence for his Ssangyong Rexton as officers claimed it was “unsuitable” to be used as a taxi.


They said his four- wheel-drive fell outside rules governing the types of permissible private hire vehicles. Under current council rules, PHVs can only be four-door saloon cars, five-door estates or hatchbacks and minibuses. In contrast, four-wheel- drives are classed as sports utility vehicles. Officers even took


measurements from the ground to the front and rear seats as well as the minimum legroom to back up their case.


But licensing commit- tee councillors have now overturned the ruling after testing the vehicle out for them- selves.


Several councillors climbed in and out of the front passenger seat before deciding to grant the vehicle a trial six-month licence. Mr Fewson, 58, said he was delighted by the U-turn.


“I had to go through a long, protracted and quite expensive pro- cess to get both myself and my car licensed.


“As part of that, you


have to get an MoT through the council’s own garage and it was- n’t until right at the end that I was told it wasn’t a suitable vehicle,” he told the Hull Daily Mail. Mr Fewson said the vehicle’s own log book and insurance described it as an estate.


He will operate out of Bransholme-based Sutton Cars.


Senior licensing offi- cer Keith Fenner said; “In general, sport util- ity vehicles are deemed as unsuitable for licensing because entry and exit from this type of vehicle is difficult and the height of the doors can present difficulty to elderly or infirm passengers.”


PHTM SEPTEMBER 2010


spaces could be avail- able. He warned if a solution was not reached more protests could be on the cards. Now, Mr Khan said licensing officers had informed him there may be space for eight cars on the Morledge. He told the Derby Tele- graph: “We think that is a sensible solution and are happy with that, if it goes ahead.” Mr Poulter said: “The issue was that space was not available straight away.”


“These drivers have paid a hefty price and for some of them may mean the loss of their licence and hence their livelihood. The rules and laws are in place for very good reason and we will continue to ensure that illegal drivers are not operating in Notting- ham.”


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