Taxi Driver Online

Anger as Prince of Wales Road taxi office plan is rejected




A community champion has blasted a council decision to reject plans for a taxi office in the city centre which was hoped would help provide revellers with a safer way of getting home.

Mark Streeter, who owns Courtesy Taxis in Whiffler Road, applied to open an office in Prince of Wales Road, close to the heart of the city's clubland, which he hoped would stop people having to queue up late at night.

But his application was turned down by Norwich City Council last week on the grounds of traffic and highways safety - despite it being recommended for approval by planning officers.

Mr Streeter's proposal followed the launch of a pilot scheme in Tombland in October to provide taxi marshals to supervise queues of people waiting for Hackney carriages, which attracted more than 400 clients in the first two nights.

His plan would have also seen marshals usher people to cabs and he was offering a waiting room on his premises, a toilet and one or more SIA registered taxi marshals.

The council's decision was today called “perverse and senseless” by Julian Foster, chairman of the city centre Safer Neighbourhoods Action Panel (SNAP) and Central Norwich Citizens' Forum.

Mr Foster said: “I find the reason for refusal perverse and senseless and it demonstrates for all that the members of the planning committee have no idea what happens on the city centre streets at night.

“All licensees are required to demonstrate they have a dispersal strategy in place in their operating schedule if they are to be awarded a premises licence.

“Is it not then the duty of the city's planning committee to similarly provide a dispersal strategy instead of leaving the people congregating every Friday and Saturday night in huge numbers to get home from Prince of Wales Road?

“Denying this application will only exacerbate the problems there and cause more anti-social behaviour in the street as people have to wait on the pavement for upwards of two hours for cabs.”

Mr Streeter, who five months ago also failed in his bid to turn premises in Rose Lane from offices into a taxi hire company, said today he would not give up and was now looking for another venue in the city centre to open an office.

He said: “I was really disappointed that it was turned down, because I thought I had addressed the issues from when it was turned down in Rose Lane.

“I had the view that everybody else had, including the planning offices, that the people were already there in Prince of Wales Road at night and needed to be picked up by taxis and taken home. I shall carry on looking for premises to try and get a safe haven in the city for revellers, but every time I'm being knocked back by the council.”

David Bradford, chairman of the council's planning committee, said it had been a difficult decision and they supported the taxi marshalling scheme in principle. He said: “But that particular point of crossing in Prince Of Wales Road was felt to be a highways hazard,” he said.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin