Jasbar wrote:
You have to laugh. Given that we all now fully understand how the CGSA works, where does it say that the council can open the trade up for a period?
And what would be the benefit to them for this?
Once opened, and the genies is out of the bottle, how could it be closed again?
Be aware, they open the trade up, it stays opened up. End of.
Don't see why it couldn't be opened for a limited period and then closed, in theory at least.
Quite a few English LAs have done it under a broadly similar legal test - indeed didn't Edinburgh do it previously and Aberdeen are doing it now? - so I can't see any obvious legal impediment.
Of course, normally it isn't a course of action that's planned in advance, but once the pressure to release plates has disappeared then it's easy to recap again, because all those who were previously on the outside are now on the inside, and the drawbridge can be pulled back up again, and no-one objects.
So a
planned temporary derestriction would be almost unknown, but certainly plausible in theory.
However, if they're not planning a full and permanent derestriction then I suspect it's something short of a temporary full derestriction, thus perhaps a limited release of new plates, which again is quite feasible under the SUD test.
Indeed, the OP says that "plates will be opened up again to
license holders to apply for a set time period".
Thus is there any significance in the use of the phrase 'licence holders'?
If there is then that might imply some kind of issue other than a full derestriction, but who knows.
For example, Dublin tried to stave off derestrction by offering a new plate only to existing plate holders, but it all collapsed in the face of court action.
But I'll believe it all when I see it.