West Berkshire Council’s Licensing Committee is scheduled to consider the future of protected hackney-carriage plate arrangements in Newbury at an extraordinary meeting on Monday 7 September.
The meeting is due to begin at 4.30pm in Newbury and will consider the outcome of a consultation on the protected plate provisions, including proposed changes affecting transfers of qualifying licences.
The council says 35 hackney-carriage vehicle licences continue to benefit from the saloon-car protection and a family-transfer exemption. The arrangements originated in the former Newbury Town Zone, where taxi licence numbers were capped before that limit was removed in 2002.
Taxi and private hire operators can find booking and dispatch tools from DM Taxi Assistant.
Since the cap was lifted, newly issued hackney-carriage licences have been required to use fully wheelchair-accessible vehicles. However, certain licences issued before 1 April 2001 have been able to continue operating saloon cars while retained by the proprietor.
A policy change in 2005 also enabled qualifying protected plates to be transferred within an immediate family without activating the wheelchair-accessible vehicle requirement.
Under the consultation proposal, the wheelchair-accessible vehicle condition would apply immediately where a protected plate was transferred outside the family exemption. The council’s consultation material sets out the background and options, but does not confirm that a final decision has been made or when any change would take effect.
Thanks for visiting DM News! If you’ve got a question, a story tip, or anything you’d like to share, head over to DriverMatty.com — I love to hear from you. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out my other websites and social media channels.
