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Venue: Committee Room 1, Town Hall, Chorley
Contact: Christine Wood, Democratic and Member Services Officer
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Declarations of Any Interests Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.
If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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The procedure for the hearings is enclosed. Minutes: The Chair outlined the procedure to be followed. |
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Exclusion of the Public and Press To consider the exclusion of the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.
By Virtue of Paragraph 1: Information relating to any individual. Condition: Information is exempt to the extent that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Information is not exempt if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority may grant itself planning permission pursuant to Regulation 3 of the Town & Country Planning General Regulations 1992(a). Minutes: Resolved:
That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. |
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Review of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licence To receive and consider the report of the Director of Planning and Property. Minutes: On Wednesday,18 September 2024 at 1pm a General Licensing Sub-Committee was convened to consider an application for a review of a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence. . The Sub-Committee was comprised of Councillor Matthew Lynch (in the Chair), Councillors Michelle Beach, Alex Hilton, Dedrah Moss and Craige Southern.
The Licence holder was present.
Mr Chaz Malik from the Chorley Taxi Association was also present representing the Licence holder.
The Licensing Officer was present at the hearing and presented a report of the Director of Planning and Property advising that the reason for referral to the Committee was that the Licence holder had obtained a conviction following the grant of a licence. A copy of the Licence holder’s DVLA Licence was appended to the report at appendix 1.
The Licensing Officer advised the Sub Committee that the Licence holder had held a licence for many years with records appearing to go back to 2004 and that records had shown that that hehad received a fix penalty for exceeding speed limit on a motorway in the year 2000. The Licence holder’s licence had been endorsed with 3 penalty points and he had renewed his licence in the usual way since originally granted.
The Licensing Officer further explained that the Licence holder had been convicted of an offence of speeding in 2024 for exceeding the speed limit on a motorway. The Sub Committeewas advised that the offence had occurred in July 2023. The Licence holder’s Licence had been endorsed with 6 points and he had received a fine of £337.
A copy of the memorandum of entry in the register of the Magistrates’ Court was appended to the report at Appendix 2 which showed that the Licence holder was found to be travelling at 77mph where the speed limit was 50mph. The memorandum alsoadvised that the vehiclebeing driven at the time of the offence was licenced as a Hackney Carriage Vehicle at the time of the offence.
As per condition 2 of the Private Hire Driver Licence, the Licence holder had notified the Council of the conviction via email on 29 July 2024. The Sub Committee accepted a request from the Licence holder to circulate a photographic image ofwhen the offence had occurred.
The Chair invited the Licence holder to make representations to the Sub-Committee as regards to his fitness to continue to hold a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence.
Mr Malik, representing the Licence holder advised the Sub Committee that a passenger had not been present in the vehicle at the time of the offence. Mr Malik stated that the Licence holder had acknowledged the offence and referred to the Licence holder holding a licence for over 20 years.
Mr Malik further stated that the Licence holder had received a telephone call from his disabled wife and had failed to see the Boards advising that the speed limit was 50mph and not 70mph. Mr Malik confirmed that the vehicle had been stationery when he had received the ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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Review of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licence To receive and consider the report of the Director of Planning and Property. Minutes: The Sub Committee considered a further application for a review of a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence.
The Licence holder was present. Prior to proceedings, the Licence holder advised that he did not intend to continue to hold a Licence and that he wished to surrender his Licence. The Licence holder was advised that he could not surrender the Licence and that the hearing would be required to take place.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer was present at the hearing and presented a report of the Director of Planning and Property advising that grounds for referral to the Committee were that the Licence holder had obtained convictions following the granting of the Licence and had failed to report the convictions to the Council.
The Licensing Officer advised the Sub Committee that the Licence holder had first been granted both a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver Licence by Chorley Council in 2015. Prior to this, the Licence holder had received a fixed penalty notice for exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road in 2011 and his DVLA licence had been endorsed with 3 penalty points. A copy of the Licence holder’s application was appended to the report at appendix 1.
The Licensing Officer further reported that the Licence holder had failed to notify the Council of the fixed penalty as required by a condition of his licence. The Licence holder had therefore been issued with a Formal Warning. A copy of this correspondence was appended to the report at appendix 2.
In 2021, the Licence holder had notified the Council that he had been required to undertake a speed awareness course. A copy of this correspondence was appended to the report at appendix 3.
In 2022, the Licence holder had notified the Council that he had received a notification of intended prosecution in respect of an offence of exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road. The Licence holder had been travelling at 37mph where the speed limit was 30mph. The vehicle being driven at the time of the offence, was licenced as a Private Hire Vehicle. The Licence holder’s licence was endorsed with 3 penalty points.
It was reported that following a routine check of the driver’s DVLA licence, two offences of exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road were detailed in June 2022 and June 2024. 3 penalty points had been imposed for each offence. It was confirmed that, in respect of the offence committed in June 2022, the vehicle was again a licensed vehicle at the time of the offence. In respect of the 2024 offence, it was not considered that this was committed in a licensed vehicle as the licence had expired.
It was reported that the Licence holder had failed to comply with Condition 2 of the Private Hire Driver Licence condition, which was detailed in the report, in respect of both offences detailed at paragraph 16, despite having received a formal warning regarding this in 2018. A printout of the ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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Review of a Hackney Carriage Vehicle Proprietor's Licence To receive and consider the report of the Director of Planning and Property. Minutes: The Sub Committee considered a further application for determination of an application to renew a Hackney Carriage Vehicle Proprietor’s Licence.
The Licence holder was present. Mr Chaz Malik from the Chorley Taxi Association was also present representing the Licence holder.
The Sub Committee accepted a request from the Licence holder to circulate additional documentation.
The Licensing Officer was present at the hearing and presented a report of the Director of Planning and Property advising that grounds for referral to the Committee were that the Licence holder had presented the vehicle for a test in a dangerous condition which may have called into question his ability to adequately maintain the vehicle during the currency of the licence.
The Licensing Officer advised the Sub Committee that the Licence holder had been the proprietor of the licence for many years with records appearing to specify him as the licence holder from 2011. The Licensing Officer further advised that at the current time, the vehicle associated with this licence was a Peugeot E7 Expert in red. The licence hadcontinued to be renewed in the usual way and applied to the vehicle until July2023, when it had been brought to the attention of officers, due to the poorcondition that it was in.
It was reported that the vehicle had presented for an MOT and Taxi Test at a Council-authorised garage in July 2023. The vehicle had failed the taxi test element due to a large part of the sill around the door opening being significantly rusted, allowing the tester to push his finger through the corroded metal.
It was reported that the Licence holder had removed the vehicle to enable repairs to be carried out. It was furtherreported that, again, the repairs that had been carried out were of such poor quality that the tester was able to push his finger through the corroded metal. The tester had then contacted the Council, and officers had attended to conduct an inspection of the vehicle.
As a result of the inspection, the decision had been made to suspend the licence with immediate effect and a Section 68 Suspension Notice had been issued. A copy of the suspension notice was appended to the report at appendix 1. The Sub-Committee was advised that it had been noted at the time that the faults identified would have been clear to a person without any mechanical training and without any specialist knowledge. The Licence holder had provided correspondence to the Council, a copy of which was appended to the report at appendix 2.
The Licence holder had presented the vehicle for an inspection by Council Officers in August 2023 and the suspension had been lifted, with the faults identified in the suspension notice having been rectified. The vehicle had then been submitted for a test at an authorised garage and had failed the inspection. The Licence holder was informed that his application to renew his licence was to be referred to the General Licensing Sub Committee due ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |