Hesketh bid blocked by complaints
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• Complaints from local residents and a local authority objection have led to acting North Western Licensing Authority, Keith Waterworth, reserving decision on a bid by Hesketh (Rainford) to increase the number of vehicles authorised on its licence.
The company's application to add two vehicles and trailers to its current licence, which authorises 12 vehicles and 20 trailers, provoked objections from St Helen's metropolitan borough council and representations from local residents. The residents are concerned that expansion of the company depot and fleet will lead to noise nuisance, particularly early in the morning.
For the council, it was said there was no restriction on the usage of the older section of the depot, but there was a condition to the planning consent for the new section preventing the long-term storage of trailers. The council is concerned that in a situation like a strike or a long holiday period it will not be possible to accommodate all the vehicles and trailers without breaching the planning consent.
For the company, John Backhouse maintained that if necessary all the vehicles and trailers could be parked within the older part of the depot. He argued, however, that usage of the new section will not breach the planning consent as parking between periods of use is not long-term storage.
The company has never had a strike and it is most unlikely that all the vehicles and trailers will ever be at the operating centre at one time.