Extended tours play valuable role in transport system
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TN a hotly contested application, Berresford's Motors Ltd., of Cheddleton, on Wednesday received a limited grant for packaged holidays to three destinations on the South Coast and Skegness and Cromer. And the West Midland commissioners sitting in Birmingham chose the occasion to make a six-point policy statement on extended tours.
Chairman Mr. J. Else said that — I. Although it was quite clear that extended tours were not so important as stage carriage services they still played a valuable and increasingly important part in the transport system, particularly in connection with old folk.
2. A very large catchment area was necessary to sustain large programmes and regular operation of such tours.
3. Extended tours were not the type of facility for which doorstep pick-up arrangements should be provided.
4. It was still easy for operators to find destinations not operated to on extended tours, but the Commissioners felt that the general area of the destination of the tour was more important than the specific destination town itself. There was danger of tours to nearby places, such as in the case of Torquay and Paignton, being adversely affected.
5. Operators could not be allowed to "grow hot and cold" in a short period of time on the same extended tour issues.
6. Shearings Holidays Ltd., Salopia Saloon Coaches Ltd. and Worthingtons Motor Tours Ltd., were the main extended tour operators for the highly contested Potteries area and Smith's, PMT. and Berresford were only fringe suppliers of those facilities.
Berresford was granted sevenor eight-day tours from Cheddleton to Eastbourne, Paig,nton and Weymouth, from Easter Saturday to the last Saturday in May and from the first Saturday in September to the second Saturday in October with picking-up points at Leek and Weston Coyney.
The operations were not to exceed three in any one period with a vehicle allowance of one for each tour.
The applicant was also granted seven-, eight-, or nine-day tours to Skegness and Cromer from Leek with a picking-up point at Cheddleton between April and September, not to be operated on more than six occasions with a vehicle allowance of one.
Shearings objected to all destinations and Salopia and Worthingtons to the South Coast resorts, seeking protection for recently granted extended tours from the same area.