Instructed by Paul Loughlin at Stephensons, Richard Dawson recently secured the grant of a new Operator’s Licence at Public Inquiry.

Despite representations from local residents as to the environmental suitability of the site, the Traffic Commissioner was persuaded to grant an interim O Licence, subject to conditions to alleviate concerns. In conjunction with the Traffic Commissioner, appropriate conditions were devised to prevent authorised vehicles from causing a danger to the public and to minimise adverse effects on the environment from the use of vehicles.

This was an unusual “new” application as the Operator had been erroneously operating without authority for 20 years, having failed to notify the Traffic Commissioner of a change of entity when they bought out the previous sole trader Operator, or when they later incorporated the company.  Furthermore, the Operator had failed to seek authority to change Operating Centre location, so had been using the new site without the permission of the Traffic Commissioner.

Richard was instructed on behalf of both the Operator company and the Transport Manager who, in addition to seeking the new O Licence and permission for the new Operating Centre, had also been called to answer questions regarding repute and professional competence.

Given the particular circumstances of the case, the Traffic Commissioner was persuaded not to find that good repute had been lost; and so, given the flexibility of the Operator to deal with the environmental concerns raised by local residents, was persuaded to grant an interim Licence, subject to a site visit, which had been delayed by the current pandemic.