Taxi drivers from Valley operate 100 miles away
CHARLOTTE GREEN
MORE than 250 taxi drivers licensed in the Valley are operating 100 miles away in Derbyshire, it has been revealed.
Local authorities in Derby have drafted in Rossendale Borough Council (RBC) officers to help them crack down on taxis operating in their area with deficient vehicles and poor safety standards.
It follows a joint exercise between the two authorities which resulted in five out of six Rossendale-licensed vehicles in Derby being suspended after a spot check.
Derby City councillor Baggy Shanker said their ‘biggest concern’ is safety.
He said: “We can’t conduct safety checks on these vehicles, we don’t know if there are any other issues that would stop us giving them a licence and we are not privy to other information that licencegivers have.
“But Rossendale is working with us - they have just done some joint inspections with us and pulled licence-holders off the roads who aren’t up to scratch.”
RBC now has around 2,500 licensed vehicles - with Derby City Council claiming more than 250 work there - 100 miles’ drive from the Valley.
Concerns have previously been raised by Rochdale council about Rossendale’s policy.
RBC has introduced policy changes in a bid to curb the number of its drivers - including a limit on new applicants to within a 30-mile radius (distance in a straight line) from Rossendale.
The permitted area stretches roughly from Settle, North Yorkshire to Wilmslow, Cheshire and from Southport, Merseyside to Batley, West Yorkshire.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware we have licensed drivers in Derby and we do enforcement operations in Derby.”
A vehicle with a hackney carriage licence can be legally used for prebooked journeys in any other district in England and Wales.
Coun Steve Hughes, chairman of RBC’s licensing committee, said that they would welcome national hackney carriage licensing policy changes to tackle out-of-town drivers. He said: “Given it is legal for those licensed as hackney carriages to work in other areas, change is required at a national level which we would welcome. Our enforcement team work very closely with other authorities and regularly go out on operations in areas where we have licensed drivers - this includes Derby.
“Consultation on further changes to our policies has just finished and our officers are analysing the responses received.” ●● Coun Steve Hughes said they would welcome policy changes
GARY John Davenport, 33, of Park Street, Haslingden, pleaded guilty to criminal damage and assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. He was jailed for 12 weeks and ordered to pay £200 compensation.
PETER Balmain, 40, of Baltic Buildings, Waterfoot, pleaded guilty to seven counts of shoplifting and one count of possessing cannabis. He was given a six-week community order with a curfew requirement and ordered to pay £194.69 total compensation.
ROBERT Paul Nuttall, 61, of Walton Close, Bacup, pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was fined £200, ordered to pay £85 costs and disqualified from driving for 12 months, reduced by 13 weeks if he completes a course approved by the Secretary of State.