Tribunal to hear second appeal
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Robert Gray and Partners, trading as UR Gray, are to appeal for the second time against a decision of Scottish Deputy Traffic Commissioner Richard McFarlane that their operating centre at Doune. Perthshire is unsuitable on environmental grounds.
Following an appeal against the Deputy TC's original decision, the Transport Tribunal said he should reconsider the matter. McFarlane then confirmed his original decision to delete the operating centre from the licence.
The firm, which holds a licence for five vehicles and seven trailers, had applied to increase the authorisation to seven vehicles and 10 trailers. That application attracted representations from tour neighbouring residents.
Refusing the increase in authorisation following a public inquiry in November 1998, and directing that the operating centre be deleted from the licence, the Deputy TC said he was concerned how quickly the size of the fleet had grown in the particular context of a rural area.
He considered that the parking of even the existing vehicles was incompatible with the area, and that in environmental terms it was not appropriate for a substantial haulage operation to be there. He gave the firm six months in which to find a new operating centre.
On appeal before the Transport Tribunal last May. Michael Whiteford, for the firm, said it was a matter of amazement to the partners that the use of their farm as an operating centre had been found to be wholly unsuitable. They had complied with the law throughout, and a haulage business had been operated from the farm for many years.
If the Deputy TC considered the parked vehicles caused an adverse environmental effect, he was obliged to consider whether it could be ameliorated by ieducing the number of vehicles or imposing conditions before going on to rule out the use of the site altogether.
Agreeing. the Tribunal asked the Deputy IC to reconsider the case. It said it was unable to decide whether compromise was appropriate, but expressed surprise that the site was said to be unsuitable, even if restrictions on use were unsatisfactory or unworkable for the firm. It was apparent that farm vehicles had always been parked there, and no objections had been raised.
However, the Deputy TC has reconsidered the case, and said he felt his original decision was right and should stand,