In the next few weeks North Tyneside Council will launch a consultation on the Hackney Carriage & Private Hire policy. Members of the trade will be asked for their views on this policy.
This policy will be so worded as to finally be rid of the out of town Hackney Carriage issues which have plagued the trade in recent years. It is important that those of you who can should take the time to complete the consultation in full and make your feelings known about a policy that will affect your livelyhood.
If the outcome makes it clear that out of town licences will no longer be accepted for use as private hire then it can be accepted that there will be interested parties who will challenge this. If such challenges take place and these could go as far as the high courts then we are looking at the situation as it stands to continue for some time yet. This does not mean that drivers should give in and not bother to complete the consultation it just means that some people will want to drag it out for as long as possible.
5th November 2008….. A reminder of what this is about….
A judge has told Berwick Council to rethink its policy on taxi licences after Tyneside cabbies protested over an influx of rival operators. Newcastle City Council brought the High Court case, complaining Berwick Council was issuing hundreds of licences which could be used anywhere in the UK. The town has 672 licensed Hackney carriages, one for every 40 residents. Berwick Council has now been advised by the court that is should only license taxis intending to operate locally. The court heard the streets of Newcastle were flooded with Berwick-licensed taxis doing private hire work. ‘Local in character’ The border town’s cheaper and easier regime had seen a rapid increase from just 46 licensed Hackney carriages in April 2006, the judge was told. The court heard Berwick licensed cabs were common in town’s across the North East and some drivers lived as far afield as the West Midlands, Wales, Liverpool, and Surrey. Judge Christopher Symons QC rejected Berwick Council’s arguments that it is obliged by law to issue a Hackney carriage license to any applicant, so long as they and their vehicle are “fit”. He said the taxi-licensing regime, which dates back to 1847, was designed to protect the public and was essentially “local in character”. He said: “The licensing system should operate in such a way that the authority licensing Hackney carriages is the authority for the area in which those vehicles are generally used.” “If the Hackney carriages are used in areas remote from Berwick, enforcement will be very difficult and impracticable.” Judge Symons said his ruling would remain at the authority’s discretion. A spokesman for Newcastle City Council said it was “delighted” with the outcome of the case. Berwick Council said it was now preparing a new policy in light of the ruling.
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