Taff Ely BC transport men kept in the dark
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• Taff Ely Borough Council was slammed for a "lamentable lack of communication" by South Wales Deputy Licensing Authority Lyndon Davies last week after he was told that its current transport manager had no knowledge of an undertaking given in 1987 that the council would have its vehicles inspected every six weeks.
The council had sought to add nine vehicles to its existing licence authorising 21 vehicles. The DLA was considering taking disciplinary action because of an unsatisfactory report from a DTp vehicle examiner who carried out a maintenance investigation. The variation application was withdrawn during the course of the hearing, and in cutting the duration of the licence so that it expires at the end of December, Davies emphasised that a local authority ought to set an example.
The DLA was told that transport manager Brian Smith had only been appointed in September of last year, and that he was the third since its appearance at a public inquiry in 1987.
Asked why an undertaking to have the vehicles inspected every six weeks, given at the last public inquiry (CM 1-7 October 1987) has not been complied with, Smith said that he had been unaware of it.
Davies said it was evident there had been a breakdown in communications, and with three transport managers since the 1987 public inquiry, instructions had not been carried down the line. Either the undertaking had never reached the transport department, or if it had, nothing had been done.