Contentious caravan carriage
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• There were seven objectors to an application by Mr. A. Sadler, of Nelson, for a new B licence for a 6-ton flat to carry boats and caravans, heard in Preston last week. The North Western deputy LA, Mr. P. G. Hayward, who was hearing his first case, reserved his decision.
Mr. Sadler said he needed this new vehicle to meet a change in the caravan industry. Caravans were getting larger and he was unable to meet his customers' demands with his present Land-Rover and trailer.
Two boat firms in Nelson, said Mr. Sadler, were growing steadily and were both experiencing difficulty in obtaining transport.
Mr. S. C. Binns, director of Creighton Caravans Ltd., said he had been operating his own transport until recently but now wanted to use Mr. Sadler's firm,.
Mr. G. Taylor of Crosshills Caravan Co. and Mr. A. Clarke of Allen Clarke (Caravans) Ltd. said that if the application was granted they would both provide Sadler with £2,000 worth of work each during the next year.
The objectors, who are all members of the Caravan Transport Operators Functional Group, held a less optimistic view of the growth of the caravan industry.
Mr. G. A. Osbaldeston, of Whitehirk Caravan Transport Ltd., said that Allen Clarke was his main customer, providing about two-thirds of his work. This work had, however, been decreasing during the past year and if the application was granted it would mean unnecessary competition and lead to abstraction of work.
The proprietor of Caravan Touring Services of Blackpool, Mr. M. Holland, produced availability figures which showed that on some days during the last three months as many as four of his five vehicles were standing idle.