Decision to move Boutport Street taxi rank in Barnstaple is reversed by council committeeA DECISION to move a taxi rank in Barnstaple has been reversed after the town centre manager appeared at a North Devon Council Licensing Committee meeting and asked members to reconsider their decision.
Craig Bulley asked the committee to reconsider two decisions which were first mooted in August last year. And he was successful in having one reversed, at least in principle.
Mr Bulley told the committee on Tuesday he had concerns its decision to move one taxi rank from outside Wetherspoon's on Boutport Street across the road, to outside the Queen's Theatre, was a bad one.
"Having a taxi rank outside the Queen's Theatre is a bad idea," he said. "If there's a taxi sitting in the way when a show needs to load it's going to cause problems."
The committee agreed with him and reversed the decision, although it must go to Devon County Council's highways department to be ratified.
"We are pleased," said Mr Bulley, "although there's some work to do yet with our friends at Devon County Council. We'll see how that goes."
Mr Bulley had less success arguing that new taxi ranks on Butchers Row should be removed.
Committee chairman Joe Tucker said he and his colleagues were not prepared to alter their decision.
"As far as we're concerned there's plenty of room for market traders on the street," he said.
"And with the times most taxis and market traders are active there doesn't seem likely to be much conflict."
"He accepted the committee may have made 'a bit of a cock up' with its decision to move the taxi rank on Boutport Street though.
"Taxis could cause an obstruction there," he said, "and I don't think we had quite realised it was simply being moved across the road. It was one that slipped through the net."
In a letter to the council ahead of the meeting Mr Bulley also asked: "Are there too many licensed taxis?"
His letter said some town traders felt that way at a meeting of traders.
"This could be a root cause of some of the issues and problems experienced within the town centre," he said.
However, Mr Bulley didn't address this point at the meeting on Tuesday.
Read more:
http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Decision-B ... z2TR6zvcqB
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