Issue - meetings

The Licensing and Compliance Specialist submitted a report for the Licensing Regulatory Panel to consider a vehicle for licence which does not meet the criteria of Allerdale Borough Councils Vehicle Age Policy.

The Applicant was in attendance at the meeting.

The Application was to consider whether the council departs from the conditions of its Vehicle Age Policy and agree to grant the hackney carriage vehicle licence for any period up to one year.

The applicant had made an application to licence the hackney carriage on 06 December 2022 but the licence had expired on 04 December 2022.

As the licence had expired on 04 December 2022 the application was accepted as a new vehicle. As the vehicle is over four years old it falls outside the Vehicle Age Policy.

The officer’s recommendation was to refuse the licence.

The applicant provided his representations and explained that following an MOT on the vehicle, remedial work was required. The delay was due to unavailability of parts which was taking up to 10 weeks. The work was not completed until after the licence had expired.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer and the applicant then left the meeting while the panel considered the application.

Members considered the application, the officer’s report, and representations from the applicant and advice from officers. The Panel also considered relevant legislation, the Vehicle Age Policy and the purposes of the licencing objectives.

Councillor Grainger moved the motion to grant the hackney vehicle licence for 1 year.

This was seconded by Councillor Pegram

A vote followed the motion, 3 voted in favour, 0 against and 1 abstention.

The motion was carried.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer and the applicant returned to the meeting.

The applicant was informed of the decision and its reasons.

Decisions/Reasons

Members considered the application, the officer’s report, representations from the applicant and advice from officers. The Panel also considered relevant legislation and the Council’s Vehicle Age Policy.

The Panel decided to delegate powers to officers to grant the licence for one year, delegating the power thereafter to the Licensing and Compliance Officer for any subsequent renewal.  Although the vehicle now falls outside the Vehicle Age Policy, it is now considered to meet the conditions outlined in section 3 of the Council’s Vehicle Age Policy.

The Panel took account of the extenuating circumstances presented by the applicant and the fact that there were difficulties in obtaining parts.

If the applicant is aggrieved by the decision of the Panel, they can appeal to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of the decision.