Agenda and minutes

To elect a Member to act as Chair of the meeting.

Decision

That Councillor Tim Grogan be elected as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

(Councillor Grogan in the Chair)

There were no apologies for absence.

All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests they have in items appearing on this agenda, including the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the procedure to be followed at the meeting.

Decision

The Sub Committee agreed the procedure for the meeting as outlined by the Chair.

The Corporate Director – Environment asked the Sub-Committee to consider whether to grant an application for a hackney carriage vehicle licence that did not comply with the standard criteria as stated in the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy.

The Sub-Committee considered the following:

·         The meeting papers, including a report from the Licensing Enforcement Officer

·         Oral evidence from the Licensing Enforcement Officer

·         Oral evidence from the Applicant

·         A physical inspection of vehicle 059D by the Sub-Committee.

In reaching their decision the Sub-Committee gave the following factors significant weight.

·         To the fact that the vehicle was in immaculate condition following a physical inspection of the vehicle

·         Answers to questions relating to the vehicle mileage and maintenance schedule and length of ownership. The Applicant confirmed the mileage as 289,000 miles. He maintained the vehicle himself on a regular basis and that he has owned the vehicle for eight years.

·         The driver presented himself as a reputable businessman and the panel were impressed that he was trained as a mechanic in the army.

·         The vehicle had passed all its recent MOTs with no advisories recorded

Decision

The decision of the sub-committee was to GRANT the application to licence hackney carriage vehicle number 059D for a period of twelve months, with one additional condition that the vehicle be subject to a mechanical inspection three times per year.