IC rejects claim that council lied
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by Herren Hayes • A Chobham-based operator who accused Surrey County Council of falsifying evidence and lying about him has lost his bid to open a new operating centre.
Alan Greenwood, trading as Alan Greenwood & Co, wanted to increase his licence by four vehicles and add a new operating centre in Chobham, Surrey. The application was turned down by South-East Traffic Commissioner Brigadier Michael Turner on environmental and safety grounds.
Surrey County Council alleged that Greenwood had cut down trees and foliage at the site. Greenwood said he had been given permission to clear the strip of common by a council official, hut this was denied. He also said a council traffic survey indicating that LGVs were already being kept at the site overnight had been falsified.
Turner was concerned that vehicles not going to Greenwood's plant or garden centre on the same site could use the road, increasing the environmental and safety effects. Turner said he found Greenwood a "very unreliable witness...he changed his stories on a number of occasions and his allegations of falsification on the part of the survey team were clearly without foundation. I was left with the firm impression that he had carried out the clearance of the common without any authority whatsoever."
1 Alan Greenwood & Co (Transport) is considering an appeal against a conviction and .C30,000 fine for illegal tipping imposed at Guildford Crown Court last month (CM 25-31 July).