06 04 2005

 

A MEETING of the COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF GOSPORT was held in the Council Chamber at the TOWN HALL, GOSPORT on WEDNESDAY, the SIXTH day of APRIL 2005 at  6.00 PM.

 

The Mayor (Councillor Edwards) (P) (in the Chair);

 

The Deputy Mayor (Councillor Burgess) (P);

 

Councillors Allen (P), Mrs Batterbury (P), Mrs Binfield (P), Bone, Carr (P), Carter (P), Mrs Champion, Chegwyn (P), Clinton (P), Mrs Cully (P), Cully (P), Davis (P), Dickson (P), Edgar (P), Farr, Foster (P), Gill (P), Hayward (P), Hook (P), Jacobs,  Kimber (P), Langdon (P), Philpott (P), Redrup (P), Rigg (P), Mrs Salter (P), Searle (P), Smith (P), Taylor (P), Train, Mrs Wright (P) and Wright (P).

 

Also in attendance: Honorary Aldermen Mrs Bailey, Foster and O’Neill

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Apologies for inability to attend the meeting were submitted on behalf of Councillors Farr, Jacobs and Train and Honorary Aldermen Flory, Herridge and Rushton.

 

 

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RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Council held on 9 February and 28 February 2005 be confirmed and signed.

                        

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The Mayor had agreed to allow Councillor Edgar to update Members concerning the future of the Royal Hospital Haslar.  Councillor Edgar reported that the Gosport delegation’s proposed meeting with the Health Minister had been postponed until after the General Election on 5 May 2005.  In conclusion he referred to the appointment of the Fareham and Gosport PCT’s new Chief Executive, Mr John Wilderspin and he gave an update on the progress of the PFI bid.

 

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Question Nos 1 – 4 standing in the name of Councillor Wright on the replacement of fresh flowers/plants with artificial flowers and new vases in the Civic Wing of the Town Hall (including the Mayor’s Parlour, Mayor’s Balcony and Mayoress’s Parlour (temporarily seconded to the Leader) )were answered by the Chairman of the Policy and Organisation Board.

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NOTE: Prior to the deputation being heard by Council, Councillors Edgar and Dickson declared personal interests in the deputation on delimitation of Hackney Carriages and left the Council Chamber prior to the deputation being heard and the consideration of Minute No 61 of the Policy and Organisation Board of 16 March 2005.

 

 

 

Mr Tony Dampier, Taxi Proprietor addressed the Council on behalf of a number of taxi proprietors who had signed a letter of complaint from Mr L J J Wright, Hardway Cabs against the proposed delimitation of Hackney Carriages.  The salient points from Mr Dampier’s Deputation are detailed as follows:

 

·        It would appear that no consideration has been given to the wider effect that this decision will have on the livelihoods of the 36 established taxi owners that already exist within the community.

 

·        Over recent years, as more taxis have joined the ranks, there has been a noticeable drop in income for all the current operators.  There has been a steady decline in earnings, the day time taxi trade has been steadily on the decrease and during a normal working day, there is barely enough work to keep all the current taxis busy.  There is constant competition from the ever increasing number of private hire operators that exist within the area, and the increased charges for licences and badges, increase in fuel charges, tax and insurance have added to the operator costs.

 

·        The idea that introducing more taxis will alleviate the problems that occur on a Friday and Saturday night are ludicrous.  At the present moment current owners are having great difficulty in finding reliable drivers who are prepared to work the late shifts as none of them are keen on risking their own safety to transport drunken revellers who are likely to either ‘do a runner’ as we call it in the trade, or try and mug them of their night’s takings.

 

·        Drivers are already saying that if more taxis appear on the rank competing for day time work then they will have to quit and try to find work elsewhere.

 

·        It is a known fact that other councils that have de-regulated have lived to regret it.  Gosport has always prided itself on the quality of the service provided by it’s taxis, their standards being higher than those of Portsmouth and Fareham, de-regulating will be the end of these standards.

 

·        The bus was introduced to move people more quickly and it would appear that this has not worked as well as would be hoped if you are still thinking about introducing more taxis.

 

·        It is considered by the taxi community that to deal with a problem that occurs twice a week, a quick fix is being introduced that will inevitably result in some of the long standing taxi owners going out of business due to lack of income, does the current council want this as their legacy?

 

·        If the Council does take a narrow view and force through de-regulation what standards will be maintained?

 

Will you

 

·        Insist on new vehicles only

·        Owners must reside in the borough

·        Owners must drive the vehicle themselves

·        Drivers must hold a badge for a year before being issued with a plate

·        Drivers must be able to speak and understand English well

·        Drivers must have held a British licence for four years

·        An alternative for controlling the late night problems could be

·        Move the late night taxi to the bus station – this will provide people with cover and somewhere to sit out of the rain

·        Use of rank marshals – this has successfully been used in other areas – staff are employed to monitor the gatherings for late night taxis, they can then work in conjunction with the police to identify the troublemakers.

·        All we are asking is that you give full consideration to the implications for many small business owners if you should proceed with de-regulating the highly regarded Gosport taxi service, as many of us are concerned that the result of this action will be to put a number of businesses and drivers out of work.

 

 

PART I
61.	DELIMITATION OF HACKNEY CARRIAGES
Consideration was given to a cross reference from a meeting of the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 27 January 2005 (a copy of which is attached hereto as Appendix “PO1”), which sought approval of a number of recommendations from the Committee.
The report was welcomed by Members who congratulated the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the work it had carried out. The recommendations of the Committee were agreed.
RECOMMENDED: That:
a)	the Council’s existing policy of limiting the number of hackney carriage licences be revoked;
b)	all new applications for hackney carriage vehicle licences will only be considered in respect of vehicles that are disabled accessible (including wheelchair accessibility) and that the need to provide a business plan with each new application be revoked;
c)	the existing ‘Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions’ of the Council should be amended to ensure that the existing high standard of hackney carriage vehicles in the Borough be maintained;
d)	holders of existing hackney carriage vehicle licences issued prior to the current policy being revoked and who operate saloon or estate cars be permitted to continue to operate saloon and estate cars as hackney carriages until 1st April 2015.  (This permission is subject to any subsequent requirements of Central Government in this matter); and
e)	the transfer of licensed vehicles between owners be permitted on the terms of the existing vehicle licence.

62.	CRIME AND DISORDER STRATEGY 2005-2008
Note: Councillor Mrs Wright declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in this item due to her employment within a medical practice but remained in the meeting room throughout discussion and voting thereon and Councillor Wright also declared an interest based on his spouse’s employment.
Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Development and Environment (a copy of which is attached hereto as Appendix “PO2”), which advised Members of the statutory process being undertaken to produce a Crime and Disorder Strategy for Gosport and presented a draft strategy seeking Members’ views.
Members were advised that this was a very fluid draft document and that, before final approval was given by Council, changes or amendments would be made as further information or input was provided by partner agencies and key stakeholders.
Councillor Philpott, in his capacity as a Member of the Anti Social Behaviour Working Group, was invited to address the Board.
Councillor Philpott welcomed the report and the fact that Accredited Community Safety Officers were now in post. He expressed the view that he would wish to see a firm commitment to enforcement action and advised that a school of thought existed where zero tolerance of less serious crimes would lead to more serious crimes being tackled more easily.
He advised that the work of the Working Group would be ongoing
Members expressed the view that the public must be able to see that actions to tackle crime and disorder problems were being taken. They were advised that ways of enforcement were being explored and that these could be looked at as part of the scrutiny process.
Concerns were raised that many instances of crime and disorder were as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. Officers explained the ways in which they were working with partner organisations to try to combat these problems.
Members were advised that the document was at its first stage and would be developed over time.
Hampshire County Council was congratulated on the introduction of Accredited Community Safety Officers.
RECOMMENDED: That the draft Gosport Crime and Disorder Strategy 2005-2008 be approved.

RESOLVED: That the recommendation contained in Minute No 62 be approved and adopted.