Minutes
Argyll and Bute Council · 21 January 2026
Back to Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee — 21 January 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
MINUTES of MEETING of PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on WEDNESDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2025 Present: Councillor Gordon Blair (Chair) Councillor John Armour Councillor Kieron Green Councillor Graham Hardie Councillor Fiona Howard Councillor Andrew Kain Councillor Dougie Philand Attending: Stuart McLean, Committee Manager David Walker, Solicitor 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Jan Brown, Audrey Forrest, Amanda Hampsey, Daniel Hampsey, Mark Irvine, Paul Kennedy, Liz McCabe and Peter Wallace. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 3. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF TAXI CAR LICENCE (C SPREADBURY, OBAN) 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 Spreadbury joined the meeting by telephone. The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Applicant to speak in support of their application. APPLICANT Mr Spreadbury advised that he was applying for this licence as his children were now of an age where they were fairly independent. He said that for the last 17 years he has taken on the role of house parent to allow his partner to pursue her career. He said that he had previously been a lorry driver for 28 years for various companies and had been depot Manager for West Coast Motors. He said that driving had always been his passion and that he liked to meet new people. He referred to just finishing a 2 year term as Captain of the local Golf club and that he enjoyed meeting and talking to people from all over the world through that role. He advised that due to his love of driving and meeting and talking to people, he was applying for this licence. He added that his family have been local to Oban since the early 1890s. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS
Page 2
Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from Mr Spreadbury that he planned to work 5.5 days over 7 days. He said that he intended taking Tuesdays and Wednesdays off and would start the mid shift on a Saturday. He said that a friend who was a taxi driver had been keeping him right with regard to the best shifts to do and when it was best to take breaks. He said that he would probably work Sundays as there were very little taxis on the rank on a Sunday. He advised that his two daughters worked at a restaurant on the pier and that they struggled to get a taxi after an evening shift. He referred to it being difficult for people to get lifts to appointments and to events at the schools and he commented that the local buses were irregular. Councillor Blair asked Mr Spreadbury if he believed there was a need for another taxi in the town. Mr Spreadbury said that he thought there was a need for another 6 or 8 taxis, especially at the weekends. He said that on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays there was a serious lack of taxis on the rank and in the streets. He advised that the friend he had spoken about earlier had confirmed there was a need for more taxis in the area. SUMMING UP Applicant Mr Spreadbury said that his partner had been more or less the breadwinner over the last few years and that he wanted to take some of the pressure off her and get back to work. He referred to regularly taking a family member to hospital appointments in Glasgow and that these were usually scheduled for Tuesdays or Wednesdays and was another reason why he planned to take these days off. Mr Spreadbury confirmed that he had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Green said he would be quite happy to approve the application. He thought it would be useful for the Applicant and would also benefit the wider community. Councillor Hardie said he agreed with Councillor Green. He advised that he thought the Applicant’s appraisal was excellent and that he would have no hesitation in granting the licence. Councillor Kain also agreed that he would be happy grant the licence. Councillor Armour said he could not argue with anything that had been said and commented that Mr Spreadbury had put his case across very well. He advised that he thought Mr Spreadbury would be an excellent asset to the taxi fraternity in town and that he would have no hesitation in granting the licence. The Chair commented that Mr Spreadbury would be a good quality, caring driver and was happy to approve the licence. DECISION The Committee unanimously agreed to grant a Taxi Car Licence to Mr Spreadbury and noted that he would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted)