Printed minutes
Argyll and Bute Council · 23 October 2024
Back to Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee — 23 October 2024 and its agenda
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MINUTES of MEETING of PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on WEDNESDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2024 Present: Councillor Kieron Green (Chair) Councillor John Armour Councillor Gordon Blair Councillor Jan Brown Councillor Amanda Hampsey Councillor Daniel Hampsey Councillor Graham Hardie Councillor Fiona Howard Councillor Mark Irvine Councillor Peter Wallace Attending: Shona Barton, Governance Manager David Walker, Solicitor Colin McNeill, Applicant 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Audrey Forrest, Andrew Kain, Paul Kennedy, Liz McCabe and Dougie Philand. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 3. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF TAXI CAR LICENCE (GLASGOW COACH DRIVERS LIMITED, HELENSBURGH) The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. In line with recent legislation for Civic Government Hearings, the party (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 Colin McNeill 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 McNeill stated that he had applied for a licence for a wheelchair accessible vehicle because he had been getting inundated with requests from within the Helensburgh and Lomond area. He advised that at the moment many customers who required the services had to go to taxi companies out with the area and were incurring additional costs as a result. He stated that he had a driver ready for this vehicle if the licence was granted. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Armour sought and received confirmation from the Council’s Solicitor that the Applicant’s car was currently insured. Councillor Hardie enquired if Mr McNeill had seen a rise in the need for taxis in the Helensburgh and Lomond area. Mr McNeill confirmed he received a lot of phone calls for
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his taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles; especially during the day and over weekends. Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from the Council’s Solicitor that Mr McNeill’s car had a valid MOT certificate. Councillor Blair enquired if drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles were required to undertake moving and handling training. Mr McNeill advised that although it was not mandatory he had contacted a company in Glasgow to provide training to his drivers on the safe loading and unloading of wheelchair passengers. He further advised that the driver waiting to go on this taxi already had the relevant training. Councillor Blair then asked what the gender balance of Mr McNeill’s staff was. Mr McNeill advised that he currently had an all-male workforce but he had been actively trying to recruit female drivers although he had not received any interest so far. SUMMING UP Applicant Mr McNeill reiterated that if the licence was granted he had a trained driver ready to go on the vehicle and another ready to submit his paperwork to cover some shifts. He also confirmed he would like to have a mixed gender workforce but had received no female applicants. Councillor Green sought and received confirmation that the Applicant felt he had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Hardie stated that the applicant seemed very organised and there would be a demand for more taxis in the area as Helensburgh continued to expand. He confirmed he would have no problem approving the application. Councillor Blair commended the inclusion of accessible vehicles. DECISION The Committee unanimously agreed to grant a taxi car licence to Mr McNeill and noted that he would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted) Regulatory Support, submitted)