News

Weekend hours restrictions imposed on two licences by Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Tim Hayden have been relaxed by the Transport Tribunal on appeal, to allow a limited number of extra movements. Following neighbours' objections, the DTC imposed conditions on the licences held by Alan Holder, trading as H&H Transport, and Harold Williams, trading as H H Williams & Son, banning vehicle movements and maintenance between 1400 hours on Saturdays and 0600 hours on Mondays from their shared  site at Moreton Valance.

In Holder's case the Tribunal said that his container business was well understood to require early starts, but Holder only required an early start on a Monday morning or late Sunday to reach Cornwall where he had had a china clay customer. His vehicles were away all week and only returned on a Friday. They therefore directed that Holder should have up to three truck movements out of the site from 1800 to 2000 hours on Sundays nights, a time at which they considered three movements would not seriously affect the quiet enjoyment of the representors' premises.

With regards to maintenance, it was clear that was undesirable at most times at the weekend. As a result, they permitted Holder one movement out of the site on a Sunday for purposes of maintenance elsewhere because he had said that was an alternative to maintaining vehicles at the site on Sundays. His other vehicles must be maintained on Saturday mornings.

In Williams' case, the  Tribunal said that he operated a countrywide livestock haulage business. His evidence was that he only needed one vehicle, which had to go out at 0500 hours to reach animals to be taken to an abattoir. They directed that Williams' licence is reduced to one vehicle and that he be permitted one movement out of the site at 0500 hours on any day.

The Tribunal believed the DTC had erred in two ways: failing to give individual attention to the needs of each operator and not asking for representations about maintenance.