Hunt's gains by council talks
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• Surrey County Council says hauliers who want to alter operating centres should talk to it first to forestall potential problems.
Council transportation planning officer Pauline Knowles says: "It is nearly always better for us to talk to operators if they are thinking of switching operating centres or opening new ones. We can either tell them that we have no objection or, if we do, work out a compromise. Either way the costly public inquiry process can be avoided."
Surrey's call to hauliers is underlined by a recent case involving Hunt's of Ottershaw, which faced potential problems over renewal of its 0-licence (CM 9-15 Nov 1995).
After talks with SCC a compromise was agreed, the council withdrew its objection and both WS Hunt's Oil and WS Hunt's Transport have now had their licences renewed.
Commercial director Malcolm Hunt says: "It transpired that the council's objections applied largely to the considerable flexibility of options in the outline licence, but it was happy to compromise on allowing the existing licence to continue.
"We were particularly pleased that the council saw our point of view," he adds. "The compromise saved both parties and the taxpayer significant time and money."