Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Crofts was appointed Chair for the Hearing.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To determine any other items of business which the Chair decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no items of urgent business.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

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Councillor Nash explained that Mr Paisley had been a customer of his approximately seven years ago.  He commented that there was no financial interest and did not consider there to be a conflict of interest.

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The Chair welcomed everyone to the Hearing and stated that the purpose of the Hearing was to consider an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Licence in respect of a vehicle registered as a Category N1.  The Chair introduced the Panel Members, Officers and Legal Advisor.  The Applicant introduced himself.

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The Legal Advisor outlined the procedure which would be followed at the Hearing.

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At the request of the Chair, the Licensing Officer presented his report as included in the Agenda.  He requested that the Panel consider the application, including any submissions put forward by the Applicant, and dispose of the matter using one of the options as set out in the report.

There were no questions.

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The Panel adjourned the meeting to carry out an inspection of the vehicle.

At the request of the Chair, the Applicant presented his case and provided the Panel with documentation showing that the DVLA had recognised the vehicle as a minibus on the V5 certificate, but that the category of the vehicle could not be changed on registration documents.  The Applicant also provided the Panel with a letter from GM which indicated that the vehicle would be treated as category M1 for taxation purposes.

In response to questions from the Panel, the Applicant explained that if the vehicle had been converted pre-registration, then the category would have been changed.  He also stated that the vehicle had previously been panelled in the rear, but now side windows had been added.  There were two fire extinguishers in the vehicle.

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The Licensing Officer reminded the Panel to consider the Licensing conditions relating to vehicle category and the documentation presented to the Panel by the Applicant.

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The Applicant reminded the Panel that the documentation provided to them proved that the DVLA did consider the vehicle to be a minibus and that it was up to standard and safety requirements.

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The Legal Advisor addressed any outstanding matters referring the Panel to the relevant Licensing Conditions.

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The Chair advised that the Panel would retire to consider their decision in private, accompanied by the Legal Advisor and Democratic Services Officer.

All parties agreed to Councillors Jones and Rose remaining in the room during deliberations for training purposes only.  They took no part in the decision making process.

All parties were then called back into the room and the Chair read out the Panel’s decision.