Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Kilmory, Lochgilphead

Contact: Fiona McCallum Tel. No. 01546 604392 

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were intimated from Councillors Mary-Jean Devon, George Freeman, Alex McNaughton and James McQueen.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Minutes:

None declared.

3.

CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF TAXI OPERATOR'S LICENCE (ISLAY MINIBUS AND TAXI HIRE LTD, PORT CHARLOTTE, ISLAY)

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.  Thereafter he outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Applicant to speak in support of his Application.

 

Applicant

 

Mr Doyle advised that he already holds 4 private hire licences and a taxi car driver licence and is hoping to expand his small, family run business on Islay by applying for a Taxi Operator’s licence to allow him to have a vehicle available for pick ups at the ferry and airport.

 

As Inspector Watson had no questions for Mr Doyle he was invited to speak in support of the representation submitted by Strathclyde Police.

 

Police

 

Inspector Watson advised that he had noted the convictions declared by Mr Doyle and that Strathclyde Police had no objections to his Application for a Taxi Operator’s Licence.

 

As Mr Doyle had no questions the Chair invited the Members to ask questions.

 

Members’ Questions

 

Councillor Blair asked if Mr Doyle ran any school contracts and Mr Doyle confirmed that he had schools contracts for 2 primary schools and 1 for the secondary school.

 

Councillor Kinniburgh referred to the letter from Strathclyde Police regarding a conviction dated 2002 which was not listed in the Application and asked Mr Doyle to confirm whether or not this was the same conviction that he had listed in his Application for 1998 and Mr Doyle confirmed that this was the same conviction and that the dates he had stated in his Application form were rough estimates.

 

Councillor Currie queried why this Application was before the Committee as all the information contained within it was the same as for a previous Application considered by the Committee.

 

Mr Reppke confirmed that apart from the fact that a representation had been received from Strathclyde Police which meant the Application had to come before the Committee, it had also been agreed previously by the Committee that all Taxi Operator’s Licence Applications would be considered by the Committee.

 

Councillor Blair asked for clarification on the speeding convictions in light of the fact that Mr Doyle had contracts with the schools.  Mr Doyle advised that all of these convictions were for a number of years ago when he was younger and had been employed as a lorry driver taking fish to the markets.

 

Councillor Currie asked if any of the convictions were in his role as a taxi driver and Mr Doyle confirmed that none were connected to his employment as a taxi driver and that they were all HGV related.

 

Councillor Kinniburgh asked Mr Doyle if this was for a new licence and also asked how many other taxi licences were on Islay.  Mr Doyle advised that this was a new licence for a Taxi Operator’s licence which was different to a Taxi Private Hire licence.  He advised that to his knowledge there were 2 other taxi licences on the Islay for public hire and 4 for private hire companies.  When asked he also confirmed that there was a need on Islay for another licence.

 

The Chair invited Inspector Watson and Mr Doyle to sum up.

 

Sum Up

 

Police

 

Inspector Doyle confirmed that Strathclyde Police had no objection to Mr Doyle’s proposal.

 

Applicant

 

Mr Doyle advised that he was always careful to ensure that all previous convictions were detailed on his Application form and that he never tried to hide anything.  He also referred to having to come to Lochgilphead to the Hearing from Islay which was not a simple journey to arrange.

 

The Chair asked Mr Doyle and Inspector Watson to confirm if they had received a fair hearing and they both confirmed this to be the case.

 

Decision

 

Agreed to grant a Taxi Operator’s Licence to Mr Doyle.

 

(Reference: Report by Head of Governance and Law, submitted)