Saints Taxi granted licence by Sedgemoor District Councilhttp://www.burnhamandhighbridgeweeklyne ... t-council/A BURNHAM taxi company which used a personal 4×4 to help out elderly residents during the Beast from the East has been granted a licence to keep operating it.
Theresa Regan, who runs Saints Taxis with her husband David, used her Toyota RAV4 to provide transport for people during the extreme weather conditions earlier this year.
The vehicle was originally refused a private hire licence by Sedgemoor District Council on the grounds that it was too old to be considered “safe and comfortable” for passengers.
But councillors have now seen reason following a public hearing and have agreed to grant the Regans a licence to continue using the car as part of their vehicle fleet.
Mrs Regan addressed councillors and officers at a licensing panel which convened in Bridgwater to resolve the issue on Wednesday morning (August 15).
The panel were given the opportunity to examine the car in person and to ask questions about how it had been used to date.
Licensing officer Simon Guest said it was policy that all cars being used as taxis, Hackney carriages or for private hire had to be five years old or younger at the time when their first license was introduced.
Because Mrs Regan’s car has a ’12’ registration plate, it was automatically refused a licence by Mr Guest’s team. The panel was convened after Mrs Regan appealed the officers’ decision.
Addressing the panel, she said that the Beast from the East had made it difficult for elderly people to get around, meaning that four-wheel-drive vehicles were in high demand.
She said: “The RAV4 in question is actually a personal vehicle that I have held for a couple of years now.
“We have three taxis in our fleet, all wheelchair-enabled – we live in Burnham-on-Sea, and there’s a high proportion of elderly people who require accessible vehicles.
“One of the benefits of the RAV4 is that it’s four-wheel-drive, and it would have been a great service to the community if it had been out during the Beast from the East.
Elderly people don’t struggle to get into saloon cars, but they do struggle to get out.”
She added Somerset County Council had “struggled to identify sufficient 4×4 vehicles” to ferry children to and from school in the area, and that it would offer “a quieter, more pleasant ride” for people making journeys to and from Bristol Airport.
She said: “It was never intended to become part of our fleet, but as the needs of our customer base has become more apparent, we find it could meet a lot of those needs.”
Nigel Osborne, the council’s legal advisor, said that the panel was able to overrule Mr Guest, stating that the five-year limit on vehicle age was “discretionary”.
After a brief inspection of the vehicle, and a further brief adjournment to consider their verdict, the panel announced that the licence would be granted.
Councillor Jeff Savage, who chaired the panel said: “The panel is satisfied that the Toyota RAV4 is safe, comfortable and suitable in type, size and design to be licensed as a private hire vehicle.”
The license will be granted once the vehicle has passed a routine test at the council’s Colley Lane testing area, and the Regans will both have to apply for private hire licences to drive the vehicle, since all their other licensed vehicles are Hackney carriages.
Reacting to the decision, Mrs Regan said: “It is excellent news.”
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