Agenda and minutes

Licensing Regulatory Panel - Tuesday 14th March, 2023 2.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Allerdale House

Contact: Democratic Services  01900 516809

Items
No. Item

394.

Election of Chair

To elect a Chair for the ensuing meeting.

Minutes:

Councillor A Smith was elected Chair for the ensuing meeting.

 

395.

Declaration of Interests

Councillors/Staff to give notice of any disclosable pecuniary interest, other registrable interest or any other interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

Councillor M Grainger advised the panel he knew the second applicant, however this would not affect his decision.

396.

Questions

To answer questions from members of the public – submitted in writing or by electronic mail no later than 5.00pm on a working day, allowing two clear working days before the day of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

None received.

397.

To consider an application to grant a hackney carriage vehicle licence

Minutes:

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

 

The Applicant was in attendance.

 

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 vehicle was licensed as hackney carriage vehicle and that licence had expired without a valid renewal application being made.

 

The applicant had requested that the Licensing Regulatory Panel consider licensing the vehicle outside of the Vehicle Age Policy due to their extenuating circumstances.

 

The officer’s recommendation was to refuse the licence.

 

The applicant advised members it had slipped his mind with the busy Christmas period and only came to light when he was insuring his car and needed some paperwork. He contacted Customer Services at Allerdale Borough Council and was advised his 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 P Gaston proposed to grant the hackney carriage vehicle licence for one year.

 

This was seconded by Councillor M Grainger.

 

A vote was taken, the motion was unanimously agreed.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Decision/Reasons

 

Members have 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 has 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 circumstances presented by the applicant and accept the oversight to renew the license was as a genuine mistake.

 

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

 

 

 

398.

To consider an application to grant a private hire vehicle

Minutes:

The Licensing and Compliance Officer submitted a report for the Licensing Regulatory Panel to consider a vehicle for private vehicle license which did not meet the criteria of Allerdale Borough Councils Vehicle Age Policy.

 

The Applicant’s representative was in attendance.

 

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

 

The vehicle was licensed as private hire vehicle and that licence had expired without a valid renewal application being made.

 

The applicant had requested that the Licensing Regulatory Panel consider licensing the vehicle outside of the Vehicle Age Policy due to their extenuating circumstances.

 

The officer’s recommendation was to refuse the licence.

 

The applicant’s representative advised the panel the business’s bank account had occurred some fraudulently activity this resulted in the cards being stopped and had no means of paying for the licence, with all this going on they admitted to a lack of communication with Allerdale on their behalf.

 

The Licensing and Compliance Officer, the applicant and representatives 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 P Gaston proposed to grant the private hire vehicle licence for one year.

 

This was seconded by Councillor M Grainger.

 

A vote was taken, 4 voted in favour, 1 abstention.

 

The motion was carried.

 

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

 

The applicant was informed of the decision and its reasons.

 

 

 

 

 

Decision/Reasons

 

Members have 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 has 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 accept the oversight to renew the license was due to the issues with the business banking account following fraudulent activity. It was acknowledged that emergency delegated powers could have been used, had the timeframe for application not elapsed.

 

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

 

 

399.

To consider a vehicle for licence which does not meet the criteria of Allerdale Borough Council’s Vehicle Age Policy.

Minutes:

The Licensing and Compliance Officer submitted a report for the Licensing Regulatory Panel to consider a vehicle for private vehicle license which did not meet the criteria of Allerdale Borough Councils Vehicle Age Policy.

 

The Applicant was not in attendance with mutual agreement from the Licensing and Compliance Officer.

 

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

 

The vehicle was licensed as private hire vehicle and that licence had expired without a valid renewal application being made.

 

The applicant had requested that the Licensing Regulatory Panel consider licensing the vehicle outside of the Vehicle Age Policy due to their extenuating circumstances.

 

The officer’s recommendation was to refuse the licence.

 

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 P Scott proposed to grant the private hire vehicle licence for one year.

 

This was seconded by Councillor M Grainger.

 

A vote was taken, the motion was unanimously agreed

 

The motion was carried.

 

Decision/Reasons

 

Members have 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 has decided to delegate powers to officers to grant the license 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 accept the applicant was unaware of the timeframes following a transfer of business ownership to UK NI Transport Ltd and accept the relevant documents are present in respect to renewal of the application. It was acknowledged that emergency delegated powers could have been used, had the timeframe for application not elapsed.

 

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