Neighbours call the tune
Page 18
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• Western Deputy LA John Robins has granted a new 10vehicle restricted licence to Billy Boy Frozen Foods (South West). But he imposed environmental conditions and warned that if a lot of complaints are received from neighbours before the company's 0-licence is reviewed under the continuous licensing provisions, it will be called to a public inquiry.
The company's application for a licence based at Water Lane, Wotton under Edge, provoked representations from six neigh. hours and two petitions.
For the company. it was said that the vehicles would be 7,5tonne refrigerated vehicles. The normal hours of operation would be 07:30-17:00hrs Mondays to Fridays and 07:30-13:00hrs Saturdays. It was currently operating four vehicles from the site under interim authority.
Peter McGregor, of Brookside House, Water Lane, said the company had been extremely helpful in trying to meet the residents' concerns. The representations had been made in response to an advertisement that lacked detail—for example, they could have been looking at 10 maximum-weight artic.s at the site.
Robins said he had read the letters from the other representors and the petitions. When an advertisement went in, a lot of people did not realise what was involved. It seemed that since the company had actually been on the site, the residents' fears had proved unfounded.
McGregor said there had been problems with the previous occupants and that local residents were worried about trucks being left in the open with fridge motors running.
Managing director Edward Bolton said the vehicles would be loaded in the afternoon and gave an undertaking that their refrigeration units would be plugged into an electrical supply under
cover overnight. He accepted that that there had been problems with larger vehicles delivering to the site mounting the pavements but added that the company had widened the access by eight feet.
Because of the residents' concerns suppliers had been given a time slot during which to make their deliveries. Vehicles arriving outside those times were turned away and that had occurred on five occasions in six months. No vehicle maintenance was undertaken on-site.
Robins granted the application with conditions limiting the maximum size of the vehicles to 7.5 tonnes and restricting the hours of operation.