Thought this was another livery dispute when I saw the headline
But turns out it's about something different entirely - sounds very like the Perth thing a few weeks ago.
Newport taxi drivers call off Colour Clash blockadehttp://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/1 ... -blockade/A disruptive protest at one of Newport’s biggest festival events has been avoided.
Anger had been raised after the Newport Hackney Carriage Association were told one private hire firm had been granted ‘exclusive rights’ to the areas surrounding the Colour Clash festival in Tredegar Park this weekend.
The association, which represents hackney drivers in Newport, threatened to blockade the festival with around 200 taxis as a result.
But, following a meeting with council licensing officers this week, the Newport Hackney Carriage Association confirmed there is now no need to protest after they were given assurances they could operate as usual.
Chairman of the Newport Hackney Carriage Association, Lionel Morris, said: “Someone made a decision which was totally wrong, which they have now rowed back on.
“We pay our licence fees to the council, and we are allowed to pick up and drop off in any public areas in the city.
“We were told there were traffic restrictions in an instruction included in a council email. But it’s now business as usual.
“Last year we were able to pick up and drop off in the bus station near the festival entrance, and we can now do that again.
“The council have recognised the mistake, they apologised to us in our meeting.”
Ire was first raised when an email sent to the Hackney Carriage Association by Newport City Council licensing manager Alistair Dearling, on June 13, said that “under no circumstances” would hackney carriage divers be able to drop off or pick up from the festival site or surrounding areas.
The message, from Cardiff-based Climax Productions, the company behind Colour Clash, said traffic regulations “would be enforced” if any drivers tried to pick up or drop off near the festival.
But the council was quick to reassure drivers there were no traffic restrictions beyond those in the festival grounds itself, and they would be able to pick up and drop off as usual in surrounding areas as long as they stayed within the law.
In a statement released on July 5, over a week before the meeting with the hackney carriage association, the council confirmed there were no road restrictions, and added: “On this occasion, the event organisers have entered into private agreements with a bus operator and a taxi company to offer a shuttle service to transport people to and from the site.
“However, the restrictions they plan to impose regarding drop-offs and pick-ups will only apply within the boundaries of the park and will not affect the public roads.
“Therefore, other taxi operators are entitled to continue to operate in the surrounding area as long as they do so in a safe and legal manner and in accordance with existing traffic regulations.”
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