Vehicle firm loses licence

Traffic commissioner’s decision

King’s Park- based Castle Contracts Ltd has had its vehicle operator’s licence revoked.

Scotland’s traffic commissioner Joan Aitken made the decision after finding the company was not in control of its vehicles.

The firm, operating at Mid Netherton Farm, Carmunnock Road, will lose its licence on October 30 as a result of the regulator’s decision.

The company has held a standard national goods vehicle operator’s licence since February 2012.

Its work is in moving contractors’ muck to the tip or aggregates from site to site and it hires vehicles and drivers to contractors.

Following a public inquiry Miss Aitken ruled that the company had been used to get a licence for other businesses with adverse financial history.

At the public inquiry in Edinburgh on August 25 Castle Contracts was represented by Angela Ryan, sole director of the company, and Derek Wallace as transport manager.

Ms Ryan told the inquiry that following the downfall of another company Ryan Plant ( Scotland) Castle had taken over vehicles from them.

In 2014 she knew there were issues with the vehicles, due to the rate of prohibitions and MOT failures. Ms Ryan told the inquiry she believed that at that time they had to improve their game and believed they were improving.

But traffic commissioner Joan Aitken said: “I do not think the operation of Castle Contracts has been s t ra i g h t f o r w a rd o r transparent.

“I find that Castle Contracts has ceded control of the operator’s licence to Ryan Plant Solutions Ltd and this goes to repute.

“Given the arrangement with Ryan Plant Solutions Ltd, I cannot allow this licence to continue.”

Operator licences are not transferable and the holder must be the operator of the vehicles.

Miss Aitken also found that Castle Contracts Ltd could not meet the mandatory financial standing requirements to continue holding a licence and noted that the business had breached licence undertakings relating to vehicle safety.