"Consent" Sought: No Power to Run
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THIS was a unique "consent " application put in a remarkable way, .Mr. H. Backhouse, for the South Lancashire Transport Co., told the Nonth Western Traffic Commissioners at Manchester on Tuesday.
Leigh Corporation were saying they did not want to run in the territory for which they were asking consent, because they were prohibited from doing so by a legal agreement. On the face of it, the application was abortive, but they went further by saying they wanted it as a bargaining factor to deal with the other operators. It would be used to help them to make a settlement rather than go to law.
The Commissioners were continuing to hear Leigh Corporation's " consent " application to enable them to share in a proposed joint bus service to be run in place of trolleybuses by S.L.T. and Bolton Corporation between Leigh and Bolton (The Commercial Motor, March 1).
Whatever the Commissioners or the Minister did, added Mr. Backhouse, no Leigh buses could run over the territory concerned..
Mr. J. Booth, for Leigh.Corporation, said the application was to make sense of a matter the Commissioners would
ultimately have to consider. They must have regard to the fact that S.L.T. and Bolton were applying to run in Leigh. Under the same agreement S.L.T. were prohibited from operating in Leigh except as provided in it. Leigh was seeking to implement the agreement, The corporation had put forward constructive proposals, but S.L.T. were prepared for it to end in deadlock. The operation of trolleybuses was never contemplated by Leigh when the agreement was made and they had been kept Out of their heritage by S.L.T.
When Mr. F. Williamson, chairman, said the Commissioners proposed to reserve decision until all the applications had been heard, Mr. Backhouse protested that the company would suffer great hardship if decision was reserved on the " consent." If-statutory powers were granted, S.L.T. might well have to reconsider their decisiOn to replace trolley buses or obviate High Court action by promoting a Parliamentary Bill for the cessation of their tramway obligation and power to run buses.
After Mr. Booth had submitted that without a full picture there could be no just decision, the objection was overruled. The hearing continued.