Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 24 January 2024 at 2.00 pm
Argyll and Bute Council · 21 February 2024
Back to Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee — 21 February 2024 and its agenda
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MINUTES of MEETING of PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on WEDNESDAY, 24 JANUARY 2024 Present: Councillor Amanda Hampsey (Chair) Councillor John Armour Councillor Jan Brown Councillor Audrey Forrest Councillor Kieron Green Councillor Graham Hardie Councillor Liz McCabe Councillor Dougie Philand Councillor Peter Wallace Attending: Shona Barton, Governance Manager Fiona Macdonald, Solicitor Katie Clanahan, Solicitor Peter McDougall, Applicant 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Gordon Blair, Daniel Hampsey, Mark Irvine, Andrew Kain and Paul Kennedy. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 3. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF A TAXI CAR LICENCE (P MCDOUGALL, HELENSBURGH) 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 Mr McDougall joined the meeting by telephone. The Governance Manager outlined the procedure that would be followed and thereafter the Chair invited the Applicant to speak in support of his application. APPLICANT Mr McDougall advised that he had been working for his Uncle as a taxi driver and as his Uncle was retiring he was applying to get his own plate. He advised that he enjoyed the job and had previous experience working with the public in the retail business. He commented that working as a taxi driver was the best job he’d had all his working life and that he wanted to carry on with this as a full time career. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Mr McDougall that he had a taxi driver licence and that he was now applying for his own taxi car licence. Mr McDougall advised that he would like to work for himself as it would bring him a higher income.
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Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Mr McDougall that the car he would use had not been used as a taxi before. He said that the previous vehicle was a Toyota and this was a Ford Focus. Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Mr McDougall that if this licence was granted he would arrange for his vehicle to be inspected prior to using it and that he would also need to arrange for a meter to be fitted and a taxi sign displayed. SUMMING UP Applicant Mr McDougall advised that he would be extremely grateful if he was granted this licence as it would be life changing for him. He said that he enjoyed the job and that it would be a full time career for him. He advised that he enjoyed dealing with the public and that he felt this was the perfect job for him. Mr McDougall confirmed that he had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Hardie referred to a slight over provision of taxis in the Helensburgh and Lomond area but advised that he believed the Applicant would be well suited to this job and that he would be happy to grant the licence. Councillor Philand said that it was heartening to hear from the Applicant that he enjoyed his job. He commented that it was also a very difficult job and that the fact that the Applicant enjoyed it would mean he would get a lot out of it while providing a vital service. He confirmed that he would be happy to approve the application. Councillor Forrest advised that she would have no hesitation in approving the application. Councillor Brown advised that she would also like to approve the application. Councillor Green commented that as with similar applications from Helensburgh recently, and the Committee not being certain of the accuracy of the data within the survey conducted a number of years ago now, he would be content with approving any application at the moment where the Applicant seemed to be a good fit. He confirmed that he would be happy to approve this application. Councillor McCabe advised that she agreed with everyone else and would be happy to grant this licence. Councillor Wallace said he would also be happy to approve the application. Councillor Armour also agreed to support the application. Councillor Hampsey said she agreed that this would be a much needed service for the Helensburgh and Lomond area and commented that she was sure it would be appreciated by the local community as well. She noted that the Members of the Committee unanimously agreed that this licence should be granted. DECISION
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The Committee unanimously agreed to grant a Taxi Car Licence to Mr McDougall and noted that he would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted)