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23
Oct 2023
Taxi drivers threaten judicial review over new single zone
Taxi drivers have threatened legal action against North Yorkshire Council's decision to abolish hackney carriage zones.
Senior councillors backed the introduction of a county-wide zone on April 1 at a meeting last Tuesday (October 17). It means drivers can now operate anywhere across the county, rather than being limited to areas such as the former Harrogate district.
Taxi drivers say this has led to a range of problems, including drivers flocking to popular urban areas while ignoring less profitable rural areas.
Now licensing consultant David B Wilson has claimed the decision to introduce the single zone was unlawful and has threatened action.
In a letter to Barry Khan, the council’s monitoring officer, seen by the Stray Ferret, Mr Wilson gave notice that drivers had instigated a judicial review pre-action protocol.
He urged the authority to find a resolution to the matter and investigate why the council’s executive had legally approved the measure.
Mr Wilson said:
Read more:
- Taxi licensing changes will cause ‘chaos’, says Ripon cabbie
- County-wide zone has damaged taxi businesses, says Ripon councillor
- New council plans single taxi licensing for North Yorkshire
The move comes after Ripon-based taxi driver Richard Fieldman urged councillors to delay the decision on October 17 as legal advice he received suggested the decision should be made during a full meeting of all 90 councillors rather than by its 10-person executive.
However, in response, Cllr Greg White and the council’s chief legal officer Barry Khan both said they were satisfied the executive had the right to make the decision.
The executive then voted unanimously to confirm the abolition of the seven zones and to create the single county-wide zone.
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