Cumberland Taxi Association in campaign over licensing areaA SUBMISSION from Cumberland Taxi Association will be considered by councillors before deciding whether or not to create a single licensing area covering the former Carlisle City, Allerdale and Copeland local authority areas.
Members were due to consider the proposed move at a meeting of the council’s regulatory committee at Allerdale House in Workington on Monday (November 17) but the matter was deferred.
They were told that responses to the consultation still needed to be included, as well as the association’s submission, and members decided to form a working group which will have further talks with the association before a final decision is made.
In her submission Tanisha Dobinson, the association chairwoman, urged members to retain the three separate areas because, if they were merged, drivers would be attracted to the Carlisle area, reducing the service in both Allerdale and Copeland, because they could make more money.
The submission was in response to their petition – Save Cumberland’s Taxi Trade – and she said she was speaking on behalf of 149 drivers that she had managed to speak with and many were still ‘blindly’ unaware that the proposed changes were a possibility.
She added: “I’ve been in close contact with the National Private Hire Taxi Association who have informed us that even a county of merged towns and cities can keep their zones regardless of the best practice guidelines.
“For perspective, the area being opened up is just shy of the distance between Flimby and Blackpool which is roughly a two-hour journey.”
She outlined a number of concerns including:
Greater competition in busier areas when drivers were for hourly rates of between £6.16 and £8.46, after deducting all fees, licences, insurance and fuel, which she claimed was not a ‘liveable wage’;
There would be a shortage of taxis in rural areas which posed a risk to public safety;
Existing taxi ranks were not big enough to accommodate extra vehicles;
The proposed ‘dezoning’ would diminish the trade while opening the door for Uber;
In addition, the move would abolish any sort of knowledge test for drivers as it would increase the area covered to 6700 square kilometres.
She said that a similar move in Cornwall in the 1990s which she described as ‘catastrophic’ and Westmorland & Furness Council had managed to retain separate zones and added: “Can I beg you to consider all these points when making your choices and please also remember the DfT are a recommendation and not a legal requirement.”
Councillor Jimmy Grisdale (Seaton, Labour) asked if there was any evidence that they stood to lose around 200 taxis she said that a lot of her cars would go and added: “You would see a drop in hackney carriage vehicles.”
Councillor Trevor Allison (Dalston and Burgh, Conservative) wondered what the savings would be for the council and he felt the consultation had been ‘flawed’.
And councillor Jeanette Whalen (Yewdale, Labour) wondered if there was a similar area, both rural and urban, and Ms Dobinson suggested North Northampton.
However, councillor John Mallinson (Houghton and Irthington, Conservative) suggested that area was more densely populated than north and west Cumbria but added: “I understand the issues that are coming up.”
He said that moving to a single zone must have a cost implication and the trade was in favour of retaining multiple zones.
Councillor Sam Pollen (Egremont, Labour) said there were still more questions than answers and it was important to meet with the petition’s organisers.
It was proposed that they formed the working group and meet with the association before making a final decision at a future meeting and, when it was put to the vote, it was unanimously supported.
According to the report the petition was submitted to the council via
http://www.change.org and, as of October 16, 2024, it had been signed by 1449 people.
The current policy was discussed at the end of January where members agreed a much reduced dress code regulations than those which were originally proposed as well as a fixed penalty scheme for breaches of vehicle licence conditions such as failure to have a valid MOT test.
Members also agreed that no more than 12 points must be accumulated for the length of the licence: three years for drivers and five years for operators.
The report states: “Due process had to be carried out on receipt of the petition and timelines prevented it being considered at regulatory Committee on November 11, 2024, alongside the other responses to the taxi policy consultation.
“Following verification in accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme, 430
signatures were confirmed as valid. The petition did not therefore meet the threshold for debate by full council but falls within the remit of the regulatory committee.”
According to the report the committee was due to meet last November but, due to statutory agenda publication deadlines, there was not enough time for the petition to be considered.
It adds: “There were a number of outstanding matters relating to consultation responses which required further research and advice.
“These were referred back to the regulatory committee on January 31, 2025, for consideration and that part of the policy was finalised. The petition was not considered at this meeting.”
https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/25629092.cumberland-taxi-association-campaign-licensing-area/
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