Venue: By Microsoft Teams
Contact: Fiona McCallum Tel. No. 01546 604392
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Armour, Audrey Forrest, Mark Irvine and Andrew Kain. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Minutes: Councillor Paul Kennedy declared a financial interest in this application as he held a Taxi Car Licence for the Helensburgh and Lomond Area. He left the hearing at this point and took no part in the determination of this application. |
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CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF A TAXI CAR LICENCE (S MCINTYRE-STEWART, GARELOCHHEAD) Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support Minutes: The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. In line with recent legislation for Civic
Government Hearings, the parties (and any representatives) were given the
options for participating in the meeting today.
The options available were by video call, by audio call or by written
submission. For this hearing the
Applicant opted to proceed by way of audio call and joined the meeting by
telephone. The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the
Applicant to speak in support of his application. APPLICANT Mr McIntyre-Stewart advised that as a Taxi Operator he and others were
aware that the taxi trade had not picked up as they had hoped to pre Covid levels. He
pointed out that there were, however, still gaps in the industry at the
weekends and in the evenings. He said
there continues to be a lack of provision with people waiting at the rank for a
considerable time, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings. He advised that he had submitted this application
to try and fill that gap. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Green sought and received confirmation from the Council’s
Solicitor that there were currently 46 taxis in the Helensburgh
and Lomond area and that there had been 48 taxis when the LVSA survey was
carried out. Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from Mr
McIntyre-Stewart that he would be available to cover work over the phone during
the week and that he would only work the rank at the weekends. SUMMING UP Applicant Mr McIntyre-Stewart commented that the area was short of 2 taxis since
the survey was carried out. He added
that the trade had not yet fully picked up from Covid. He confirmed that he had received a fair
hearing. DEBATE Councillor Blair referred to the statistics and said that as the area
was 2 short this would seemed a good opportunity to add an extra taxi. Councillor McCabe agreed with Councillor Blair. Councillor Hardie advised that being a Helensburgh
Ward Councillor, he could see for himself in the evenings that people were
waiting at the rank outside the station. Councillor Howard said she supported this application, especially as it
would serve the peninsula which, she advised, was short of a taxi service. Councillor Amanda Hampsey advised that she
agreed with her fellow Councillors and would be happy to approve the
application based on the statistics and figures provided. Councillor Green confirmed that he was likewise minded. DECISION The Committee unanimously agreed to grant Mr Stephen McIntyre-Stewart a
Taxi Car Licence and noted that written confirmation of this would be issued
within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted) |