Agenda item

The Sub Committee considered an application to license a private hire vehicle which does not comply with the Council’s vehicle age policy.

The Chair introduced the members of the Sub Committee and the officers present.

The applicant, Mr Jason Vincent of Axminster Private Hire, was present.

The Sub Committee’s legal advisor, Giles Salter, outlined the procedure for the meeting.

The Licensing Officer, Mrs Emily Westlake, presented the report and made the following points:

·        It was the district council’s policy that on initial licensing as a private hire vehicle, a vehicle should not be more than 5 years old from the date of first registration as shown on the vehicle registration document.

·        The application to licence a private hire vehicle was for a 9 seater (including the driver)  MPV which was 5 years and 3.5 months old, and therefore did not meet the policy and was to be determined by the Licensing and Enforcement Sub Committee.

·        Where exceptional circumstances may apply to licence vehicles that were more than five years old from the date of first registration as shown in the vehicle registration document would be considered on a case by case basis. 

·        Each application would be considered on its own merits.

·        Factors such as the condition of the vehicle and the mileage would be relevant.

·        The Council would expect the vehicle to have a full service history and a certification that the recorded mileage was correct.

·        When considering to licence an older vehicle Members would expect to be provided with an AA ‘Comprehensive’ test report or a RAC ‘Essential Plus’ report to indicate the condition of the vehicle.  An AA test report had been provided by the applicant and was included at Appendix H of the report.

·        The date of the MOT and advisories to monitor and repair were noted.  The applicant had provided an invoice to document repairs carried out to the vehicle following the MOT, in addition to another invoice for further repairs.

·        The applicant had provided an approved compliance test report which indicated that the vehicle had passed all of the required tests.  The tester had certified that they had found the vehicle to be safe, comfortable and in sound mechanical condition.

·        The MOT indicated that on 11 April 2023 the vehicle’s mileage was shown as 249,087 miles.

The vehicle was presented by the applicant at the Council offices on the day of the hearing to allow Members the opportunity to inspect the vehicle.  The Licensing and Enforcement Sub Committee was asked to consider the application and determine whether to refuse the application or make an exception to the Council’s vehicle age policy and agree to grant the application and licence the vehicle.

The applicant informed Members that he had purchased the vehicle as he required an additional MPV to transport school children as part of his contract with Devon County Council.  He already owned an electric 7 seater MPV but this was not suitable for the school runs and was used for private hire.  He advised the Committee that 9 seater vehicles were very expensive and he had purchased the vehicle four months ago in the hope that a licence would be granted.  The vehicle represented good value for money.   

In response to questions from members, the applicant confirmed that:

·        The vehicle had not been used much since its purchase so the mileage remained much the same as at MOT.  The high mileage did not concern him as the vehicle would not be used by the general public for private hire and therefore not accumulate large mileage.

·        The vehicle had a very comprehensive service history and all of the required works had been completed.

·        The seats were fixed forwards and could not be rotated.

·        The vehicle would be used to transport children, with three school runs a day, as part of a Devon County Council (DCC) contract.

·        DCC provided the necessary car seats for the children, where applicable.  DCC also specified where the children could sit within the vehicle.

·        There were bodywork repairs required on the vehicle.  The applicant was reluctant to carry out cosmetic repairs until a licence was agreed.

The Chair thanked everyone for attending and advised that the decision would be notified within five working days.

This item finished at 10:10am and the meeting was adjourned until 11:00am.

The applicant, Cllr Brian Bailey, and the Licensing Officers left the meeting.