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While searching for the Durham case I came across one or two recent cases we havent previewed.


R (on the application of Leeds City Council) v Taxi Centre (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne) Ltd

[2005] EWHC 2564 (Admin)

Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court)

Lloyd Jones J


1 November 2005

Road traffic – Hackney carriage – Licence – Application for licence – Conditions being altered after application submitted but before authority's determination – Authority applying new conditions – Whether authority should have applied old conditions.

In November 2002, the defendant made an application to the claimant local authority for a Fiat Doblo wheelchair accessible adapted motor vehicle onto the authority's approved list of hackney carriages. The authority took a number of steps including identifying some factors affecting the approval of the vehicle, but had still not determined the application by January 2004.

The defendant appealed to the Crown Court against the non-determination. While the appeal was pending, the authority decided to refuse the licence, having regard to its new conditions introduced in April 2004 and adopted as council policy the next month. The appeal to the Crown Court was treated as an appeal against the decision. The court ruled in favour of the defendant on two preliminary issues, holding (i) that it was satisfied that the defendant had had a legitimate expectation at the time of its application which continued throughout the period of the application that the application would be considered with reasonable expedition and in accordance with the provisions which then prevailed; and (ii) that it was not a reasonable exercise of the authority's powers to refuse to determine applications for new vehicles. It therefore remitted the matter to the authority for reconsideration on the basis of the old conditions. The authority appealed by way of case stated.

The appeal would be dismissed.

The Crown Court had not erred in finding that the authority, and therefore the court, had been entitled to determine the application on the basis of the old conditions, despite the finding that the new conditions had taken effect in April 2004.

There was no suggestion that vehicles which conformed with the old conditions were in any way unsafe or placed the public at risk. Further, the authority was entitled to retain to itself the right to continue to use the old conditions for good reasons.