Change of Base Granted Under 1933 Act H OLDING that the
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Transport Act, 1947, did not debar him from doing so, the Yorkshire Licensing Authority, Major F. S. Eastwood, has granted a change-of-base application made to him under the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933. The hearing was reported in 'The Commercial Motor" on October 8.
D. Booth, Ltd., East Morton, near Keighley, applied for a B licence for one vehicle with a base at East Morton, for operation of a general parceldelivery service "between Burnley and Leeds, via .Skipton,. Keighley, and East Morton." Previously, a B licence had been granted in the North-Western Area, authorizing operation of such a service "between Burnley and Leeds, via Skipton and Keighley," and defining Burnley as the vehicle's base.
As Burnley and Leeds are about 30 miles apart, but East Morton is less than 25 miles from each of these towns, Hay's Wharf and Cartage Co., Ltd., argued that the 25-mile limit to be imposed on hauliers' activities by the Transport Act should count against the application.
The Booth company originated at Burnley. After it had been transferred to the present ownership, a B licence was obtained in 1947 in the NorthWestern Area for operation of the Burnley-Leeds parcel-delivery service, the applicant giving his address as East Morton and his base as Burnley.
Having considered the evidence given at the recent inquiry, Major Eastwood stated, he had reached the conclusion that the applicant had proved need for a general-delivery service between J3urnley and Leeds, via Skipton, Keighley and East Morton. On the question whether the base or 'centre should be as applied for (8, Alma Terrace, Fast Morton), he found on the evidence that the applicant had in fact been operating from this base, or from another garage which he rented in East Morton, since about September, 1946. The applicant's registered office and garage were at East Morton, and the • company's vehicles were also maintained there. Moreover, the company had no garage or premises at Burnley, "This is an application made under the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933, for a B licence with a change of base," said Major Eastwood, " but had the application been made under the terms of Section 58 of the Transport Act, 1947, I do not consider it would have been one which has come to be known as • an application to fix a notional operating centre. Had it been such a case, I might have reached an entirely different decision.
Furthermore, I am satisfied that the provisions of Section 58 of the Transport Act, 1947, do not preclude an operator from seeking to change his base and, therefore, his operating centre, by way of an application for a B licence under the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933."