Printed minutes
Argyll and Bute Council · 18 March 2026
Back to Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee — 18 March 2026 and its agenda
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MINUTES of MEETING of PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2026 Present: Councillor Gordon Blair (Chair) Councillor John Armour Councillor Reeni Kennedy- Boyle Councillor Jan Brown Councillor Kieron Green Councillor Fiona Howard Councillor Liz McCabe Councillor Dougie Philand Attending: Shona Barton, Governance Manager David Walker, Solicitor Evelyn Livingstone, Applicant for first hearing Sean MacIntyre, Applicant for second hearing Louise Marshall, Applicant for third hearing 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Audrey Forrest, Amanda Hampsey, Daniel Hampsey, Graham Hardie, Andrew Kain and Peter Wallace. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 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. 3. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF TAXI CAR LICENCE (E LIVINGSTONE, TAYNUILT) For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of audio call and Ms Livingstone joined the meeting by telephone. The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Applicant to speak in support of her application. APPLICANT Ms Livingstone advised that she had been a full-time taxi driver for a year and a half and had held her licence for 4 years. She said that she currently worked for Etive Taxis but they only required her to work 3 days per week. She said that this was not enough for her and that she would like to work more hours. She said that she had held off to see if she would be offered more hours, but this had not happened. She also advised that she had contacted another local taxi firm to see if they could offer her more hours, but they had not responded. She said that she loved working as a taxi driver and was applying for this licence so that she could work for herself and that she saw this as a natural progression to enable her to work full time.
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MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Brown noted that Ms Livingstone had indicated in her application form that she would be available to work 7 days a week from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm. Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Ms Livingstone that she believed there was a need for taxi drivers during these times in Oban. Ms Livingstone advised that she would be happy to sit at the rank and put these hours in. She said that at the moment she worked 7.00 am – 5.00 pm and was not given the opportunity to work in the evenings. She advised that on the weekends there were sometimes only 2 or 3 cars at the rank, with people waiting in a queue. She advised that when she has been driving around, she has noticed no taxis at the rank at times. She said she was not sure why as there was definitely a demand there for taxis. She said she was not sure if it was because people were choosing not to work or if taxi firms could not get drivers. Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from Ms Livingstone that she would be happy to wait at the rank during these hours to provide a service. She confirmed that she had no other commitments as her children were grown up and had their own lives. Councillor Green commented that he has observed people coming off the train and boats looking for taxis to take them to their hotels quickly, especially on a rainy night. He agreed that there was a need for more taxis in the town and the more, the better, in his opinion. Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from the Council’s Solicitor that there were currently 49 taxis in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area. He advised that in 2023 there were 51 taxis and when the LVSA survey was carried out in 2019 there were 52 taxis. SUMMING UP Applicant Ms Livingstone said that she believed there was a demand for more taxis and that it would be really good for her to be independent and self-employed. She said this was the best job she had ever had. When asked, Ms Livingstone confirmed that she had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Blair said he would be keen to grant this application in view of the figures given by the Council’s Solicitor and the comments made by the Applicant. Councillor McCabe also agreed to support this application and commented that it was heartwarming to hear someone so keen to work. Councillor Brown agreed with her fellow Councillors. She said it was nice to hear someone was keen to drive a taxi around in Oban and she wished the Applicant all the best. DECISION
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The Committee unanimously agreed to grant a Taxi Car Licence to Ms Livingstone and noted that she would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted) The Chair ruled, and the Committee agreed, to hold the hearing in respect of Mr MacIntyre’s application for a Taxi Car Licence next as it was noted that Ms Marshall would not be available join the meeting until 3 pm. 4. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF TAXI CAR LICENCE (S MACINTYRE, DUNBEG, OBAN) For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of audio call and Mr MacIntyre 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 MacIntyre advised that he was currently a window cleaner and that over the past few years he had experienced problems with his shoulder. On the advice of his Physiotherapist and Doctor, he had made the decision to give up window cleaning. He said that he realised there was a shortage of taxis in the area. He commented that there were a lot of badges but many of the taxi drivers only worked part time. He said that he would be looking to work full time if the licence was granted. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Blair asked Mr MacIntyre why he was convinced there was demand for more taxis. Mr MacIntyre explained that through his work as a window cleaner for local bed and breakfast establishments and hotels, he has been advised that proprietors found it difficult to contact taxis for their customers, especially early in the morning, as a lot of the taxis were contracted for school hires. Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Mr MacIntyre that he would do a mix of day and night work up to 40 hours a week. Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Mr MacIntyre that the problem he experienced with his shoulder would not affect his driving. He commented that if he had an operation it would take up to 9 months to recover if he wished to continue as a window cleaner. He advised that he would only need 6 – 8 weeks recovery time to enable him to drive. Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from the Council’s Solicitor that following the grant of a Taxi Car Licence at the previous hearing, there were now 50 taxis in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area, compared to 51 taxis in 2023, and 52 taxis in 2019, when the LVSA survey was carried out. SUMMING UP Applicant
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Mr MacIntyre advised that when he told his guest house customers that he planned to stop window cleaning and apply for a Taxi Car Licence, they thought this was excellent news as they found it difficult to get taxis for their guests. He said that he was advised that their guests were not prepared to wait long for a taxi and quite often chose to walk instead. He said that he definitely thought there was the demand for more taxis. When asked Mr MacIntyre confirmed that he had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Blair advised that looking at the number of taxis available, he was happy to support this application. He referred to the number of houses that have been built out at Dunbeg since the LVSA survey was carried out in 2019. Councillor Green agreed that there was a demand there for additional taxis in the area and that he would have no hesitation in supporting this application. DECISION The Committee unanimously agreed to grant a Taxi Car Licence to Mr MacIntyre and noted that he would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted) 5. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF TAXI CAR LICENCE (L MARSHALL, OBAN) For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of audio call and Ms Marshall joined the meeting by telephone. The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Applicant to speak in support of her application. APPLICANT Ms Marshall advised that she had been working as a taxi driver for a number of years but had been working for other people. She said that for 9 years she has wanted to work for herself for many reasons. She advised that over the years she has been aware that many women customers are looking for women taxi drivers and feel relieved when they get one. She said there were not enough women taxi drivers in the area. Ms Marshall also advised that she had purchased a 7-seater vehicle. She said there were some 7-seater taxis out there but, she believed, more were needed. She said that she would be willing to work late at night and early in the morning. She pointed out that there was an early train from 5.00 am and at that time there were no taxis available. She said that people found it hard to get a taxi at that time to go to the train station or to catch a ferry which left as early as 6.00 am. She advised that she had witnessed people having to wait to get taxis due to there being none available and that more taxis available in the town would be better.
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MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from Ms Marshall that she believed her 7-seater vehicle would be of benefit to her customers. She commented that there were sometimes minibuses at the rank but people preferred taxis. She said her taxi would be able to take 6 passengers. Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Ms Marshall that she would advertise her business on Facebook on the Information Oban page. She advised that coming from the islands she knew of family and friends who regularly required taxis early in the morning and so she felt she would be of help there. Councillor Blair sought and received clarification from the Council’s Solicitor that following the grant of Taxi Car Licences at the previous 2 hearings, there were now 51 taxis in Oban, compared to 52 when the LVSA survey was carried out. SUMMING UP Applicant Ms Marshall sought and received clarification from the Chair on the purpose of the LVSA survey and confirmed that she had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Blair said that he would be happy to support this application based on the information provided by the Council’s Solicitor and the Applicant. DECISION The Committee unanimously agreed to grant a Taxi Car Licence to Ms Marshall and noted that she would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted)