'Back door' objectors fail to turn up
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Thompson Transport of West Bromwich
111 An application by Ronald Thompson, trading as Thompson Transport, of West Bromwich, for an additional operating centre for six vehicles and two trailers, giving him a total of 14 vehicles and four trailers, was granted by West Midland LA John Mervyn Pugh after residents making environmental represenations failed to attend the public inquiry.
For Thompson, Michael Carless said it was alleged that he was in breach of various undertakings given in March concerning an existing operating centre in Whitegreave Street The representors were not present and Thompson was saying that he had complied with the undertakings.
Mervyn Pugh said that what the representors were saying was that vehicles were being parked in Whitegreave Street.
Thompson denied that was so, and Carless said there had been no complaints until the variation application was advertised. As it was for a different operating centre, and as the residents could not make representations about the site, this was a back-door method of getting at Thompson. After Mervyn Pugh had said the representors were saying that Thompson had preempted the application and was already using the additional vehicles, Thompson said that he had not acquired any additional vehicles as yet. He denied that he had operated more than eight vehicles before an interim licence for an additional three vehicles was granted on August 1.
Mervyn Pugh said he had been given a list of 19 registration numbers, but Thompson pointed out that he also held a licence in the Western Traffic Area and the vehicles authorised on that licence occasionally visited West Bromwich.
Mervyn Pugh commented that it was the classic case where there were vehicles from another operating centre visiting an operating centre subject to conditions and undertakings, to which those conditions and undertakings did not apply. He had no control over other vehicles visiting the site, and in any event there was no evidence that even those vehicles were parking in the street.