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Firm loses a wheel then loses its Licence

11th June 2009, Page 22
11th June 2009
Page 22
Page 22, 11th June 2009 — Firm loses a wheel then loses its Licence
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The DTC will consider a new licence application if conditions are met, including proof of financial standing.

AN OPERATOR THAT was fined £1,000 last year for a wheel-loss incident has had its five-vehicle licence revoked at a public inquiry. The licence should have been surrendered in 2007 when the company ceased trading but it continued to operate illegally for two years.

The revoked licence belonged to Carlisle-based R Charnley & Grandsons. North-Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Mark Hinchliffe has adjourned for one month an application to increase the authorisation on the licence held by the associated Richard Charnley & Sons to 10 vehicles and five trailers.

Vehicle examiner Matthew Grieve said he carried out a maintenance investigation following the issue of one delayed and four immediate prohibitions. Some safety inspection records were incomplete and there was no written driver defect reporting system. He examined two vehicles, both of which were satisfactory When asked about a wheel-loss incident last June, director and transport manager Richard Charnley said he had been called in to drive after a driver had phoned in sick. R Charnley & Grandsons and Richard Charnley were subsequently prosecuted after a wheel came off. The company was fined £1,000 and Charnlcy was fined £90.

Richard Charnley said he had bought Richard Charnley & Sons from his father in 2000 with his own CPC coming from grandfather's rights. He held a fivevehicle licence in Annan, Scotland, as RJS Charnley.

He was approached by ANC to take on a parcel franchise in the early 1990s, Charnley added. It insisted on dealing with a limited company and R Charnley & Grandsons was set up. Later he bought Cumbria Logistics, which had a contract with Helinund Parcels. Debts arising from Helmund's collapse and ANC cancelling its contract had been paid. The Cumbria Logistics licence had lapsed.

Charnley told the DTC he had no excuse for not doing a walk-round check of the vehicle that lost a wheel. Evidence was given by transport consultant Grahame Robinson that Charnley had immediately acted on the vehicle examiner's advice.

After hearing financial evidence in private, the DTC revoked R Chamley & Grandsons' licence, saying it had ceased trading in March 2007 and its licence should have been surrendered.

The DTC said he would be prepared to grant the R Charnley & Sons application if financial standing was demonstrated, if a transport manager was nominated who had passed the CPC examination, if there was an undertaking that the Scottish licence would be surrendered, and if undertakings were given about maintenance arrangements.

He was concerned that Charnley had allowed the Grandsons licence to be used illegally for two years when that company was not trading.


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