Unwilling Council : Minister Decides Appeal
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AN appeal involving the question of whether Greenock Town Council were opposing a new bus service because they were unwilling to improve the roads (The Commercial Motor, November 27, 1959) has been decided by the Minister of Transport.
The council appealed against the decision of the Scottish Traffic Commissioners to grant the Western S.M.T. Co., Ltd., a licence to run double-deckers between Leven Road and Burns Square, Greenock.
It was claimed that certain sections of the road were unsuitable for doubledeckers, and the estimated cost of improving them was £45,000, which sum Would have to be paid by the ratepayers.
In his decision. the Minister says that he accepts the findings of Mr. D. M. Campbell, Q.C., the inspector. There had been much new housing in the Leven
Road area, and there was to be further development there.
A service of double-decker buses would offer a number of advantages to the public, and the route proposed by the Western S.M.T. was the only one suitable for such vehicles.
The Minister notes that the Commissioners, before reaching their decision, inspected the route and concluded that it would be suitable for use by doubledeck buses. The Minister agrees with the inspector that the Commissioners were fully entitled to have regard to their local knowledge and their own observations in this way and he finds no sufficient evidence to cause him to dissent from their conclusions.
The Minister has therefore dismissed the appeal and decided the costs incurred in connection with the inquiry shall be paid by Greenock Town Council.